Christian Lundgaard, the Arrow McLaren driver, made a spectacular mark during Saturday morning’s practice for The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix. Despite being sidelined for the final 10 minutes of the session due to an omitted mandatory scale visit to log driver weights post-Friday’s FP1, Lundgaard charged ahead, clocking the fastest lap in his No. 7 Chevy with a remarkable 1m40.6421s lap.
Trailing behind Lundgaard was Alex Palou in the No. 10 Honda, who had previously been the fastest driver on Friday, but was now slower by 0.4826s. Not far behind Palou was Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global, who secured the third position in his No. 28 Honda, with a timing of 0.6410s behind the leader.
Further down the line, Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong clinched the fourth position in his No. 66 Honda, lagging by 0.7153s. Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward and Team Penske’s Will Power followed suit, ranking fifth and sixth respectively, with a time difference of 0.7913s and 0.8379s from the top.
One of the most noteworthy events of the session was the comeback of PREMA Racing. After a disastrous Friday session, where Robert Schwartzman’s No. 83 Chevy caught fire due to a loose fuel line, the team worked tirelessly throughout the night to prepare a backup chassis. Schwartzman was eventually sent out for an installation lap just before the session ended, marking a dramatic end to the practice.
The 45-minute session, held under clear blue skies, saw teams concentrating heavily on qualifying setups. The focus was predominantly on the grid-setting run scheduled for later in the afternoon. As teams prepare for the upcoming qualifying round, from 5:05-6:30 pm PT, the excitement is palpable, and the stakes are higher than ever.
