Josef Newgarden led the pre-race warmup for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on Sunday morning, hoping to win on the sunny streets of St. Petersburg for the third time.
Newgarden’s best lap was 1 minute, 1.1952 seconds in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet on the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit. Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Newgarden, also the two-time defending Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner, qualified 10th for the 100-lap race at noon ET today (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
SEE: Practice Results | Starting Lineup/Tire Choice
Six-time series champion Scott Dixon, who will start sixth, was second in the 25-minute session at 1:01.5426 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Teammate and two-time defending series champion Alex Palou was third at 1:01.7536 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, rebounding from a disappointing eighth in qualifying.
Felix Rosenqvist was fourth at 1:01.7789 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing, consistent with his third-place starting position. David Malukas, who qualified 17th, stepped up to fifth in this practice at 1:01.7989 in the No. 4 AJ FOYT RACING Chevrolet.
NTT P1 Award winner Scott McLaughlin ended up 21st at 1:03.1041 in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet.
The big question for teams exiting the warmup centers around tire strategy. The Firestone Firehawk alternate tires have much softer compounds this season with less durability to create a greater difference from the harder primary tires. This will force team’s to alter or throw out their form books from previous year’s races on harder tires, leading to interesting strategic decisions.