IndyCar's IR28 gets an inpromptu taste of running in traffic as testing continues at Sebring

Alex Palou completed 43 laps in the 2028 Dallara IR28 chassis on Monday during the first of a two-day outing on Sebring International Raceway’s outer loop.

Palou’s unofficial best in the 2.4-liter twin-turbo Ilmor V6-powered car was a 53.3s tour on 2026-spec tires. Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood, using softer tires during Firestone’s future tire test, set the unofficial best of the day with a 0m52.8s run in his No. 27 Dallara DW12 Honda, while Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin was close at a 0m53.0s lap in the No. 3 Chevy.

Palou’s running was cut short by just over two hours when a high-pressure fuel supply issue stopped the IR28 on track and required time to resolve the matter by swapping the affected components from a spare 2.4L motor onto the engine in the car. After splitting the IR28 and pulling the drivetrain back to allow the changes to be made, the car was reassembled and successfully fired later in the day.

With Palou released from driving duties as the fixes were made, the car will resume its testing program in the morning with Alexander Rossi at the controls.

One highlight of the day took place shortly after the lunch break when Palou and Kirkwood took to the track at the same time and spent a number of laps running close together and swapping places at one point as the DW12 and its IR28 successor shared a race track for the first time.

“It was fun,” Palou told RACER. “We were talking at lunch that I wanted to get some traffic running. We didn't plan it. We were just together on track, and I was just wanting to see what the new car was doing against the old car. It's a tough comparison because he was on new tires, I was on used tires, so you never know. But braking, I was able to brake so deep. I was able to follow quite close. I don't know if [it’s] better or worse than the current car, but it was cool.”

Hear more about the test from Palou below.