Palou tops the times on opening morning of Sebring IndyCar test

The opening day of split-field testing for all 10 full-time IndyCar Series teams got underway at Sebring International Raceway on Monday with 12 drivers taking to the short course – its outer loop – and featured a familiar name, as reigning champion Alex Palou was the quickest driver during the morning session for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood set the early standard and held the top spot until Palou and Felix Rosenqvist motored to first and second as part of the Ganassi-Meyer Shank Racing technical alliance.

Romain Grosjean settled in for his first IndyCar laps in over a year with the Dale Coyne Racing team and was 11th fastest while Mick Schumacher, who shared the track with the largest complement of IndyCar drivers since joining the series, was 12th as he got to know the car and track during the four-hour session.

The rest of the field will get rolling after a short lunch break and get to run in the warmer afternoon setting before returning Tuesday morning, while today’s morning group will complete their test on Tuesday afternoon.

Unofficial Times

1. Alex Palou: 52.626s, No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
2. Felix Rosenqvist: 52.650s, No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda
3. Rinus VeeKay: 52.756s, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy
4. Josef Newgarden: 52.846s, No. 2 Team Penske Chevy
5. Kyle Kirkwood: 52.918s, No. 27 Andretti Global Honda
6. Pato O’Ward: 53.018s, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevy
7. Marcus Ericsson: 53.165s, No. 28 Andretti Global Honda
8. Graham Rahal: 53.325s, No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
9. David Malukas: 53.442s, No. 12 Team Penske Chevy
10. Caio Collet: 53.656s, No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevy
11. Romain Grosjean: 53.798s, No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda
12. Mick Schumacher: 54.269s, No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda