Alonso fastest in delayed first practice in Austin

By Nov 15, 2013, 12:02 PM EST
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Fernando Alonso has finished quickest during first practice for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, but two large delays meant that it was hard for many of the teams to deduce much from the shortened session on Friday morning.

The start of the first free practice session was delayed by forty minutes due to a thick layer of fog that had descended over the Circuit of the Americas, with race control shortening the session to one hour as a result. Conditions did eventually improve and Austin was soon bathing in bright sunshine. Kimi Raikkonen’s stand-in, Heikki Kovalainen, was the first driver to go out on track as he looked to get to grips with the E21 car, but it was the McLaren pair of Jenson Button and Sergio Perez who set the early pace. American driver Alexander Rossi – deputizing for Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde on Friday morning – also got out early to post a time, although it was far from representative, being four seconds down on Button in P1 and six seconds ahead of Charles Pic.

However, the session was soon red flagged after fifteen minutes of running due to a problem with the medical helicopter. Had there been a crash that required a driver to be airlifted to hospital, this would not have been on hand, meaning that all cars were forced to return to the pits and wait for the arrival of the back-up helicopter.

After a delay of around thirty minutes, the helicopter arrived and the session was able to get back underway with just thirty minutes left on the clock. The drivers were quick to get back out and make up for the lost time, with Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber being the first drivers to displace the McLaren drivers at the front. Valtteri Bottas also popped up into second place briefly as the track began to evolve, and the rest of the runners soon put in a competitive lap time. However, some drivers still lacked grip as Adrian Sutil became the first man to run wide at turn nineteen whilst Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez both locked up heading into the first corner.

Most of the teams opted to focus on their long runs due to the delay, with Sebastian Vettel filling his Red Bull full of fuel and failing to bother the front-runners as a result, eventually finishing in eighteenth place. Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat got his first taste of running at a grand prix weekend, and posted a respectable time in comparison to full-time driver Daniel Ricciardo. Alexander Rossi made the most of the delayed session to finish ahead of Charles Pic, strengthening his case for a full-time seat, whilst Heikki Kovalainen quickly got to grips with the Lotus car to finish just behind Romain Grosjean. Esteban Gutierrez also put in a good display to finish in fourth place, delighting the sizeable Mexican contingency in Austin.

Due to the delays though, it was very hard for the teams to deduce much from the session, meaning that they will have to regroup and squeeze more running into the second practice session later today.

You can watch FP2 live on NBCSN from 1pm ET.

After New York whirlwind, Josef Newgarden makes special trip to simulator before Detroit

By Jun 2, 2023, 10:00 AM EDT
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DETROIT – There’s no rest for the weary as an Indy 500 winner, but Josef Newgarden discovered there are plenty of extra laps.

The reigning Indy 500 champion added an extra trip Wednesday night back to Concord, N.C., for one last session on the GM Racing simulator before Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

After a 30-year run on the Belle Isle course, the race has been moved to a nine-turn, 1.7-mile layout downtown, so two extra hours on the simulator were worth it for Newgarden.

INDYCAR IN DETROIT: Entry list, schedule, TV info for this weekend

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“I really wanted to do it,” he told NBC Sports at a Thursday media luncheon. “If there’s any time that the sim is most useful, it’s in this situation when no one has ever been on a track, and we’re able to simulate it as best as we can. We want to get some seat time.

“It’s extra important coming off the Indy 500 because you’ve been out of rhythm for a road or street course-type environment, so I really wanted some laps. I was really appreciative to Chevy. There was a few guys that just came in and stayed late for me so I could get those laps before coming up here. I don’t know if it’s going to make a difference, but I feel like it’s going to help for me.”

After a whirlwind tour of New York for two days, Newgarden arrived at the simulator (which is at the GM Racing Technical Center adjacent to Hendrick Motorsports) in time for a two hour session that started at 6 p.m. Wednesday. He stayed overnight in Charlotte and then was up for an early commercial flight to Detroit, where he had more media obligations.

Newgarden joked that if he had a jet, he would have made a quick stop in Nashville, Tennessee, but a few more days away from home (where he has yet to return in weeks) is a worthy tradeoff for winning the Greatest Spectacle in Racing – though the nonstop interviews can take a toll.

“It’s the hardest part of the gig for me is all this fanfare and celebration,” Newgarden said. “I love doing it because I’m so passionate about the Indy 500 and that racetrack and what that race represents. I feel honored to be able to speak about it. It’s been really natural and easy for me to enjoy it because I’ve been there for so many years.

“Speaking about this win has been almost the easiest job I’ve ever had for postrace celebrations. But it’s still for me a lot of work. I get worn out pretty easily. I’m very introverted. So to do this for three days straight, it’s been a lot.”

Though he is terrified of heights, touring the top of the Empire State Building for the first time was a major highlight (and produced the tour’s most viral moment).

“I was scared to get to the very top level,” Newgarden said. “That thing was swaying. No one else thought it was swaying. I’m pretty sure it was. I really impressed by the facility. I’d never seen it before. It’s one of those bucket list things. If you go to New York, it’s really special to do that. So to be there with the wreath and the whole setup, it just felt like an honor to be in that moment.”

Now the attention shifts to Detroit and an inaugural circuit that’s expected to be challenging. Along with a Jefferson Avenue straightaway that’s 0.9 miles long, the track has several low-speed corners and a “split” pit lane (teams will stop on both sides of a rectangular area) with a narrow exit that blends just before a 90-degree lefthand turn into Turn 1.

Newgarden thinks the track is most similar to the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville.

“It’s really hard to predict with this stuff until we actually run,” he said. “Maybe we go super smooth and have no issues. Typically when you have a new event, you’re going to have some teething issues. That’s understandable. We’ve always got to massage the event to get it where we want it, but this team has worked pretty hard. They’ve tried to get feedback constantly on what are we doing right, what do we need to look out for. They’ve done a ton of grinding to make sure this surface is in as good of shape as possible.

“There’s been no expense spared, but you can’t foresee everything. I have no idea how it’s going to race. I think typically when you look at a circuit that seems simple on paper, people tend to think it’s not going to be an exciting race, or challenging. I find the opposite always happens when we think that way. Watch it be the most exciting, chaotic, entertaining race.

Newgarden won the last two pole positions at Belle Isle’s 2.35-mile layout and hopes to continue the momentum while avoiding any post-Brickyard letdown.

“I love this is an opportunity for us to get something right quicker than anyone else,” he said. “A new track is always exciting from that standpoint. I feel I’m in a different spot. I’m pretty run down. I’m really trying to refocus and gain some energy back for tomorrow. Which I’ll have time to today, which is great.

“I don’t want that Indy 500 hangover. People always talk about it. They’ve always observed it. That doesn’t mean we have to win this weekend, but I’d like to leave here feeling like we had a really complete event, did a good job and had a solid finish leading into the summer. I want to win everywhere I go, but if we come out of here with a solid result and no mistakes, then probably everyone will be happy with it.”