Pato O’Ward was the fastest in Friday’s opening practice for the NTT IndyCar Series in Detroit.
The first practice session for the Detroit Grand Prix featured several red flags as drivers frequented the run off areas of the track during the 90 minute session.
O’Ward was not immune to the run off himself as he required assistance multiple times.
INDYCAR Schedule: Weekend Schedule for Detroit GP
The Detroit Grand Prix is a new circuit as the IndyCar Series moves from Belle Isle back to the streets of Detroit. It is not the same layout that was previously run in the 1980s and 1990s. The current layout features 10 turns for a total of 1.7 miles around which visits Jefferson Avenue, Bates Street, Atwater Street, St. Antoine, Franklin Street and Rivard.
Practice for the series resumes Saturday morning at 9:05 am on Peacock with qualifying taking place at 1:20 pm, after the Indy NXT race. The Detroit Grand Prix will air on NBC and Peacock beginning at 3:00 pm ET on Sunday. IndyCar Radio and SiriusXM have the radio call.
Detroit Grand Prix Practice 1
| RANK | DRIVER | CAR NO. | BEST TIME | IN LAP | BEST SPEED | TOTAL LAPS | DIFFERENCE | GAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pato O’Ward | 5 | 01:03.0773 | 28 | 93.885 | 33 | –.—- | –.—- |
| 2 | Scott Dixon | 9 | 01:03.1759 | 30 | 93.738 | 33 | 0.0986 | 0.0986 |
| 3 | Kyle Kirkwood | 27 | 01:03.5140 | 27 | 93.239 | 31 | 0.4367 | 0.3381 |
| 4 | Alex Palou | 10 | 01:03.6388 | 31 | 93.056 | 34 | 0.5615 | 0.1248 |
| 5 | Felix Rosenqvist | 6 | 01:03.6929 | 27 | 92.977 | 27 | 0.6156 | 0.0541 |
| 6 | Alexander Rossi | 7 | 01:03.7277 | 27 | 92.927 | 30 | 0.6504 | 0.0348 |
| 7 | Will Power | 12 | 01:03.7439 | 36 | 92.903 | 42 | 0.6666 | 0.0162 |
| 8 | Colton Herta | 26 | 01:03.7540 | 25 | 92.888 | 30 | 0.6767 | 0.0101 |
| 9 | Callum Ilott | 77 | 01:03.7984 | 31 | 92.824 | 31 | 0.7211 | 0.0444 |
| 10 | Scott McLaughlin | 3 | 01:03.9518 | 32 | 92.601 | 34 | 0.8745 | 0.1534 |
| 11 | Marcus Ericsson | 8 | 01:04.1082 | 33 | 92.375 | 35 | 1.0309 | 0.1564 |
| 12 | Christian Lundgaard | 45 | 01:04.1978 | 33 | 92.246 | 39 | 1.1205 | 0.0896 |
| 13 | Simon Pagenaud | 60 | 01:04.2281 | 32 | 92.203 | 34 | 1.1508 | 0.0303 |
| 14 | Marcus Armstrong | 11 | 01:04.3134 | 36 | 92.080 | 42 | 1.2361 | 0.0853 |
| 15 | Josef Newgarden | 2 | 01:04.4376 | 28 | 91.903 | 30 | 1.3603 | 0.1242 |
| 16 | Graham Rahal | 15 | 01:04.4797 | 30 | 91.843 | 34 | 1.4024 | 0.0421 |
| 17 | Devlin DeFrancesco | 29 | 01:04.6259 | 31 | 91.635 | 34 | 1.5486 | 0.1462 |
| 18 | Jack Harvey | 30 | 01:04.6777 | 27 | 91.562 | 31 | 1.6004 | 0.0518 |
| 19 | David Malukas | 18 | 01:04.7698 | 26 | 91.432 | 29 | 1.6925 | 0.0921 |
| 20 | Rinus VeeKay | 21 | 01:04.7800 | 37 | 91.417 | 43 | 1.7027 | 0.0102 |
| 21 | Sting Ray Robb | 51 | 01:04.8143 | 36 | 91.369 | 39 | 1.7370 | 0.0343 |
| 22 | Conor Daly | 20 | 01:04.8789 | 28 | 91.278 | 31 | 1.8016 | 0.0646 |
| 23 | Romain Grosjean | 28 | 01:05.5223 | 18 | 90.381 | 34 | 2.4450 | 0.6434 |
| 24 | Agustin Canapino | 78 | 01:05.6454 | 16 | 90.212 | 17 | 2.5681 | 0.1231 |
| 25 | Santino Ferrucci | 14 | 01:06.0065 | 27 | 89.718 | 28 | 2.9292 | 0.3611 |
| 26 | Helio Castroneves | 06 | 01:06.0689 | 13 | 89.634 | 17 | 2.9916 | 0.0624 |
| 27 | Benjamin Pedersen | 55 | 01:07.7024 | 21 | 87.471 | 38 | 4.6251 | 1.6335 |
