McLaughlin sets the benchmark in opening IndyCar practice at St. Petersburg

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin was fastest in the opening IndyCar practice session for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

On the harder Firestone primary compound, McLaughlin set the early standard in the No. 3 Chevy (1m01.5793s) during the 40 minute full-field session. Chip Ganassi Racing's Kyffin Simpson bettered that in the No. 8 Honda during the 12-minute split-field session (1m01.1782s) before McLaughlin lowered the bar on his alternates (1m01.1020s) to end the afternoon.

“Decent first day,” said McLaughlin, who sat on pole at St. Petersburg last year. “Obviously being P1 is a great start. The DEX Imaging Chevy was straight away fast, and felt good and comfortable. It’s good for us. It’s the start of a long season and it was nice to have a smooth session to start. We’ll keep pressing on and see how we go.”

In the combined fastest laps from all of Friday’s segments, McLaughlin was followed in second by Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist in the No. 60 Honda (1m01.1660s), Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood in third with the No. 27 Honda (1m01.1777s), Simpson, Andretti’s Marcus Ericsson in fifth with the No. 28 Honda (1m01.1967s), and Ganassi’s Alex Palou completed the top six (1m01.2614s).

Elsewhere, Dale Coyne Racing’s Dennis Hauger led the rookie class in 17th, ahead of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Mick Schumacher in 23rd and AJ Foyt Racing's Caio Collet in 24th among the 25 entries.

Palou’s teammate Scott Dixon had the hardest crash of the day as he clipped the inside wall and ricocheted into the outer wall, which broke the front wings and left-side suspension on the No. 9 Honda. The team reported the car was repairable and will not require a move to a backup car.

RLL’s Louis Foster also found the wall and damaged his front suspension, and Penske’s Josef Newgarden went flying off the course and into the tire barriers. His car was filled with dust and dirt, but was otherwise fine after his crew removed the debris. Spins and trips down runoff areas, including what appeared to be a 20-point turn by Andretti’s Will Power, also slowed the activities, but otherwise, the stoppages were relatively brief.

UP NEXT: FP2, Saturday 9:35-11:00am ET

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