MONTEREY, Calif. – Alex Palou will not be successful in his defense of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series championship, but he was the fastest driver in Saturday morning’s practice session before qualifications.
Palou’s No. 10 NTT Data Honda had the best lap of the session at 1:11.3847 around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile WeatherTech Racing at Laguna Seca.
Qualifications for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey is set for later today at 5:05 p.m. Eastern Time (2:05 p.m. Pacific).
Andretti Autosport driver Alexander Rossi, who will drive in his final race for the team on Sunday, was second quick at 1:11.6920 in the No. 27 NAPA Auto Parts/Auto Nation Honda.
NTT IndyCar Series points leader Will Power of Team Penske was third at 1:11.7183 in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet. Power, the 2014 IndyCar Series champion, takes a 20-point lead over teammate and two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden and six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon into Sunday’s season-finale.
Newgarden was fourth at 1:11.7973 in the No. 2 Chevrolet. Colton Herta was fifth in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda for Andretti Autosport. Dixon was sixth at 1:11.9192 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing.
The other two drivers still alive for the championship are Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson, 39 points back, and Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, 41 out.
Ericsson was 20th at 1:12.7757 in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda. McLaughlin was 18th at 1:12.6457 in the No. 3 Chevrolet.
The red flag came out briefly when Graham Rahal spun his No. 15 Honda in the Corkscrew portion of the course.
Later in practice, Mexico’s Pato O’Ward spun his rear tires at the exit of Turn 9 and buried it in the gravel trap before lightly touching the tire barrier. That brought out the second red flag with 23:50 remaining.
Jimmie Johnson also went off in the Corkscrew during the Red Flag, as the No. 48 Honda went skipping through the gravel.