LEEDS, Alabama – Colton Herta of Andretti Autosport led a relatively incident-free Friday practice session for Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park.
Herta, was the fastest of the 26 NTT IndyCar Series drivers that ran laps on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course that has earned the nickname, the “Augusta National of IndyCar.”
Herta’s fast lap was 1:06.5149 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. That was a bit faster than defending Alabama winner and defending series champion Alex Palou, who ran a time of 1:06.5657 in the No. 1 American Legion Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing.
“We were one of the lucky ones that got to test here,” Herta said. “The car rolled off the truck good.”
Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi was third in the NO. 27 NAPA Auto Parts Honda at 1:06.6657 followed by Andretti teammate Romain Grosjean’s 1:06.7046 in the No. 28 DHL Honda.
“It went by quickly,” Rossi said. “A lot of people here already. We have a little work to do yet, but we have time to do it.
“We had a test here a month ago, but it was on the 2021 tire. We learned a lot. It was a little bit different, but not significantly different. It’s very similar to what it has been. It will still be a black race based on the tire deg will be high.”
There is a chance of rain this weekend, which could be the first time for IndyCar since the aeroscreen was added to the cars in 2020.
“It could be just fine, or it could be terrible,” Rossi said. “None of us know. But it isn’t going to rain. We had a qualifying session in 2020 where it wasn’t raining, but the track was wet. It will be interesting to find out.”
This is a very popular road course for the spectators with its natural beautiful and undulating up and down nature. But for the drivers, some of them find it overly challenging.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t really like it,” Rossi said. “I haven’t been shy about it. We haven’t had a lot of success here so that falls in my displeasure. There are certainly cars that come and go. There are enough different lines that take it through Turns 3 and 5.
“It hasn’t been super friendly for us. But it is a beautiful course.”
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top five at 1:06.8705. Scott Dixon (1:06.8705), Pato O’Ward (1:06.9838), rookie driver Callum Ilott 1:07.0861), Marcus Ericsson (1:07.1012) and Rinus VeeKay (1:07.1155) rounded out positions 6-10.
“We got a chance to test three weeks ago as well, and we came into this even running,” Ilott said. “I think the pace is quite good. We tried a few things, and it was very good.
“It’s an up-and-down circuit with a lot of lovely artwork to look around, so it’s been fun.”
Rossi is hopeful his Andretti Autosport team has fine-tuned a setup on the road courses and that it pays off this weekend.
“I’m optimistic this a sign of our road course progression that began last year,” Rossi said.
Saturday’s practice session is set for 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET followed by qualifying with three rounds of knockout qualifying beginning at 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. ET. Both of those will be available on Peacock Live, NBC’s streaming service.
The final practice is set for 5:20 to 5:50 p.m. ET.