ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Rookie Felix Rosenqvist of Chip Ganassi Racing turned the fastest lap (1:01.8215 seconds) Friday in the opening practice of the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season
Ryan Hunter-Reay was second (1:02.0636) on the 1.8-mile circuit on the streets of St. Petersburg, followed by Marcus Ericsson (1:02.0811), Scott Dixon (1:02.1309), Alexander Rossi 1:02.1470 and Takuma Sato (1:02.1571) as Honda swept the top six spots.
“It started off pretty well, being a rookie I had the benefit of new tires,” Rosenqvist told NBC Sports Gold. “The car feels really good. The guys have done a brilliant job in the winter to start off with a good package here. I feel at home but still a lot of things to learn.”
Josef Newgarden of Team Penske was the highest Chevrolet in seventh (1:02.1740).
Two-time defending race winner Sebastien Bourdais was 11th.
The 45-minute session ended about 15 seconds early as rookie Ben Hanley hit the wall near Turn 4
There was one other minor incident in the session as Graham Rahal scraped the wall with the left rear of his Dallara-Honda. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing crew made some repairs around the wheel.
Click here from results of the opening practice.