TORONTO – The session got off to a late start because of a barrier repair but had a fast finish with Andretti Autosport driver Colton Herta on top on the streets of Toronto.
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Herta was the fastest driver in Saturday’s NTT IndyCar Series practice session for Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto. He ran a lap at 1:00.0471 for a speed of 107.076 miles per hour in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda.
That was faster than second-place Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing, who lapped the 11-turn, 1.786-mile temporary street course at Exhibition Place in 1:00.2082 (106.789 mph) in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda.
Three-time Toronto winner Will Power of Team Penske was third in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet at 1:00.3322 (106.570 mph). Teammate Scott McLaughlin, the most recent IndyCar winner at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on July 3, was fourth at 1:00.3389 (106.558 mph) in the No. 3 Chevrolet for Team Penske.
A big surprise was the fifth-fastest driver, rookie Christian Lundgaard of Denmark. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver had a fast lap of 1:00.3954 (106.458 mph).
There are 25 car/driver combinations at Toronto, which makes for cramped room on both pit lane and the tight race course at Toronto’s Exhibition Place.
That was evident even before the session started. One of the Porsche Carrera Cup North America cars damaged a barrier during a qualifying session. That delayed IndyCar practice by 33 minutes.
Josef Newgarden had an engine issue when he reported low oil pressure. That triggered the engine to go into protection mode and his practice was over.
Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou, the center of controversy for this week over a contract situation involving Chip Ganassi Racing and McLaren, hit the wall in turn 2. His car shot across the side of the course and hit a concrete barrier. It damaged the front and rear on the left side of the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda.
Later in the session, Romain Grosjean got loose in the turn and hit the concrete barrier with the left rear of his No. 28 DHL Honda.
Pato O’Ward also brushed the wall inside turn 4 but was able to remain on track.
But with less than one-minute remaining, the red flag came out when Takuma Sato hit the wall. Just before that, Herta set the fastest lap of the session.
The IndyCar teams return to the track for Saturday’s knockout round of qualifications, which begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time and can be viewed on the Peacock streaming service.