Felix Rosenqvist posted the fastest lap in the first of three practice sessions for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama with a time of 1 minute, 9.2296 seconds.
The Chip Ganassi Racing rookie led Sebastien Bourdais by 0.0454 seconds, with James Hinchcliffe finishing third (1 minute, 9.3276 seconds) despite being one of three drivers to spin nearly simultaneously with less than ten minutes remaining in the session.
Takuma Sato also spun, as did Tony Kanaan, who brought out a red flag when his car became stopped on the track after spinning in turn 16.
The unfortunate combination of a wet track and cold tires made for a very eventful session, as other drivers found their way off course as well.
Before Kanaan’s trouble, his teammate Matheus Leist brought out a red flag himself with 24 minutes remaining, after he spun in turn seven and made contact with the inside retaining wall.
Team strategist George Klotz told NBC Sports Gold that, besides the front and rear wings, he didn’t believe Leist’s car had any additional damage.
The practice session ended under the red flag, when Spencer Pigot spun and got stuck in a sandtrap at the exit of Turn 17.
Scott Dixon (1:09.4373) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (1:09.4452) rounded out the top five.
Rookie Patricio O’Ward posted the most laps with 16.
