The entire NTT IndyCar Series paddock set up shop in Sebring, Florida on Monday for an open test session ahead of the 2025 season.
Drivers were split into morning and afternoon groups, but were otherwise given free rein to tackle the Sebring Raceway short course as they saw fit.
Keeping in mind that all-out pace was not necessarily the goal of every driver, Pato O’Ward flexed his muscles by setting the fastest lap of the day.
His best lap of the 1.67-mile course was completed in 52.3470 seconds, giving him an average speed of 114.849 MPH during the morning hours.
In total, he completed 47 laps in his #5 Arrow McLaren Chevy, which was in line with most other drivers throughout the day.
“Oh, man, it’s the best feeling in the world; it’s the best job in the world,” O’Ward said.
“I was so excited to come back to Sebring and get into an IndyCar Series car, getting to work with the engineers again. It definitely feels like home, and it’s a second family to me. So always excited to get rolling.”
Marcus Armstrong, now driving the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda, set the second fastest time. He completed his laps in the afternoon, and was only 0.0205 seconds off the best pace.
Reigning champion Alex Palou was third fastest, followed by Conor Daly in the #78 Juncos Hollinger Racing entry. Christian Lundgaard rounded out the top five.
Mostly trouble-free
By and large, there were very few issues throughout the course of the day.
Teams tested out new setups and configurations, and some drivers chose to pilot their cars with the newly-available Cosworth mark 3 steering wheel.
The only driver that failed to turn a representative lap was veteran Scott Dixon. Mechanical issues plagued his #9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, and he was only able to complete a couple install laps.
One incident marred the afternoon session, with Nolan Siegel slipping off the road and putting his #6 Arrow McLaren Chevy into the barriers.
There was significant damage done to the right side of his car, and he was forced to sit out the rest of the day after completing just 34 laps.
Other than Siegel and Dixon, however, drivers were able to spend the available time turning as many laps as they could. In total, 1311 laps were completed by the 27 drivers.
Christian Rasmussen completed the most laps at 71 in his brightly-colored Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy.
All will return tomorrow for the second and final day of the open test session, with the next on track action taking place 10 days later for the opening weekend in St. Petersburg.
