Barber – Warm-Up: Palou ahead, problems for Power

While Josef Newgarden (Penske) led much of the session, Palou set the fastest time at the very end. The reigning champion beat Felix Rosenqvist (Meyer Shank), once again in good spirits. Newgarden was relegated to third place, ahead of Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti) and Scott Dixon (Ganassi).

The session was interrupted once at the red flag, in the first minutes. Rosenqvist spun at the Museum chicane. The Swede was then unable to leave, being stuck in the grass. Pietro Fittipaldi (Rahal Letterman Lanigan) was forced to go out into the gravel, to avoid hitting the number 60 car.

That'll wake you up first thing in the morning 😬

📺: Warmup on Peacock pic.twitter.com/GTLavRDZev

—NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 28, 2024

The rest of the session saw the drivers try out the soft and hard tires from Firestone. Strategy should play a central role in this race, which can be done in two stops, without saving too much fuel. But this requires spending a third of the race on the soft tires, which generally suffer from significant degradation at the end of the stint. Last year, Scott McLaughlin (Penske) won after three pit stops, ahead of Romain Grosjean, which had only stopped twice.

The Frenchman had a turbulent session, with two slight contacts. The first after a few minutes, when he blocked a wheel while attacking Santino Ferrucci (Foyt). The second when he was attacked this time, by Josef Newgarden in the penultimate corner. Grosjean finished the session in 25th, one position ahead Theo Pourchaire (McLaren). The champion F2 was able to add 21 completed laps to his arsenal before tonight's race, which will count 90.

For Will Power (Penske), the session was more complicated. The Australian was once again the victim of clutch problems, which could require an engine change. And if that wasn't enough, he explained to a journalist from the NBC broadcaster that he felt unwell and had severe nausea. This risks making the game complicated for the person who will start second later...

Start of this third round of the season at 19:30 p.m.!

Barber – Warm-Up

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