New INDYCAR era off to unpredictable but promising start

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Granted, it was just the first practice session on a green street circuit, but both manufacturers had reason to crow this morning after a slippery but damage-free session to open the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg weekend.

Brazilian rookie Matheus Leist recorded the fastest lap of the session in AJ Foyt Racing’s No. 4 ABC Supply Chevrolet, but Honda swept the next five positions during early preparation for Sunday’s 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season opener.

The 45-minute session was the first full-field practice with the series’ new universal aero kit, a drastic departure from previous years’ formula. The session was relatively clean. Tony Kanaan spun shortly after posting the fastest lap early in the session and James Hinchcliffe later used the runoff in Turn 10. Neither car was damaged.

“That was me trying too hard,” Kanaan said of his spin “The car is really oversteering. I’m not comfortable with the rear of the car right now, but it’s nothing big or major.”

Leist secured the top spot in the final minute of the session with a lap of 1 minute, 1.7231 seconds (104.985 mph) around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile circuit. Hondas driven by Sebastien Bourdais, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi, Scott Dixon and Robert Wickens followed.

“My first official practice in INDYCAR and my first at P1, so I’m pretty happy and happy for the team, said Leist, who won the Freedom 100 as an Indy Lights driver last year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “I think we’re in a pretty good position for the race, but I still have a lot of things to learn. We’ll see how it goes.”

No matter how it goes, it undoubtedly will be different than the previous 14 races through the streets of downtown St. Petersburg. Dixon, the four-time series champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner, struggled along with other veterans to find grip in the new car, which generates less downforce than in past years.

“It’s definitely not going to be a typical St. Pete race with the new car,” said Dixon, driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. I think we ended up averagely OK there. We’ll see how it goes the rest of the weekend.”

The offseason work by both manufacturers and their teams was extensive and continues into the season. Among the most difficult aspects of the new kit was redesigning airflow into the engine. Previous versions of the Dallara IR-12 chassis featured an air scoop above and behind the cockpit. The new kit eliminates the scoop, making airflow through openings in the sidepods essential.

“That’s where the work went to – how to manage the limited amount of air that you have going to the engine,” said Art St. Cyr, president of Honda Performance Development. “In the sidepods is where all of your air comes from now, but it’s also where your charged air comes from. How do you bifurcate (draw from two areas) that air that’s coming in and make sure it serves all the purposes you need it to?”

Much of the offseason testing took place at Sebring International Raceway, where grip is at a premium. The first few laps on a fresh St. Pete street circuit today were notably loose.

“With how testing has gone so far, we’ve been on a grippy Sebring circuit because so many people have been running,” Dixon said. “But here, it’s different. I think I nearly crashed four times on my first run.”

Grip is expected to improve as more rubber is laid down, but the first few minutes of practice were both dicey and encouraging. Leist’s lap was less than seven-tenths of a second off Will Power’s pole-winning lap for last year’s race.

“It’s just the first session, so you never can tell,” said Kanaan, Leist’s new teammate and mentor. “A lot of people can improve. We just need to keep at it. Some people put new tires on at the end, but we didn’t. We looked pretty strong all session long.”

Representatives of both manufacturers were enthusiastic about the start of a new era.

“I’m as bullish on our lineup as I am on the cars themselves,” St. Cyr said. “We’ve got three series champions and four Indy 500 winners in our lineup. Our teams are strong, our drivers are strong and things are looking good going forward. I haven’t been this bullish in a long time about what we’re doing here.”

Another practice session is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. ET today, followed by another Saturday at 11:10 a.m. Qualifying is set for 2:20 p.m. All will stream live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com.

Race coverage starts at 12:30 p.m. Sunday on ABC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.