The streets of St. Petersburg hummed with the roar of race cars once again on Saturday morning as the NTT IndyCar Series took to the track for their final practice session before qualifying. Colton Herta emerged as the fastest driver after the 45-minute session in the hot and humid conditions. Herta completed the 1.8-mile Florida circuit with a time of 1 minute and 0.133 seconds, slightly faster than the fastest time from Friday’s practice. Josef Newgarden and Will Power closely followed Herta, showing strong form for Team Penske. Pato O’Ward and Romain Grosjean also posted impressive times, rounding out the top five.
Grosjean, who secured pole position in this race last year while driving for Andretti, had more modest expectations this weekend as he adjusts to his new team, Juncos Hollinger Racing. The morning session also saw Linus Lundqvist shine as the fastest rookie, putting his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda in 16th position. Felix Rosenqvist, who had the fastest time on Friday, ended the practice session in 10th place. However, the true test of speed will come during qualifying.
Unlike the format on Friday, which split the field into two groups to alternate track time, the second practice session allowed all participants to freely navigate the track for the full 45-minute duration. Although some drivers exceeded the limits of their braking zones, they managed to recover without the help of the safety team, resulting in an uninterrupted session. Unfortunately, Santino Ferrucci was unable to participate in the action due to mechanical issues with his Chevy AJ Foyt. Despite this setback, Ferrucci will rely on his familiarity with the circuit as he prepares for qualifying later in the afternoon.
All 27 drivers will take part in the knockout qualifying session, scheduled to start at 2:00 PM Eastern time.
