Written by Archie O’Reilly
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou topped the speed charts as IndyCar completed an 11-car Indianapolis 500 hybrid test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) last week.
Each team that competed in the 2024 Indy 500 had one car permitted to test. The PREMA Racing team, which is joining IndyCar in 2025, was absent from the running as off-track preparations continue ahead of its debut in IndyCar competition next year.
The first track action came on Thursday morning, when Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel successfully completed his Rookie Orientation Programme (ROP). Siegel did participate in the Indy 500 fortnight with Dale Coyne Racing in 2024 but failed to qualify for the race, meaning he was required to complete his ROP again.
Thursday afternoon then saw drivers from the four teams that took on the bulk of hybrid testing last off-season hit the track for a four-car Firestone-led tyre test. This is an important part of the process of finding a correct formula for the first Indy 500 with the added hybrid weight.
Along with newly-crowned three-time series champion Palou, Team Penske’s two-time reigning Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden was on track on Thursday. Pato O’Ward ran for Arrow McLaren and Marcus Ericsson for Andretti Global. No session timings were released.
Friday then saw the larger, 11-car group test, which was split between two hours of running in the morning and four hours after a lunch break. For many of the teams, it was the first chance for any hybrid running on the IMS oval.
It was Newgarden - leader in the morning session - who followed Palou in the combined speed charts, which generally mean very little during test outings. Palou’s test-topping speed was a 224.342 mile per hour lap average, with Newgarden notching a 223.873 mph best lap.
“It was a good day of testing,” Palou said. “We tried a lot of stuff. Yesterday was Firestone, today was more us, Ganassi and Honda. We’re happy. You want to come here, and even if you’re testing a bunch of stuff, you want to be first.”
Having debuted competitively at Mid-Ohio in July, the hybrid system is more advanced than it was during the last off-season’s testing at IMS. This was a first chance for teams to test the technology in the specification that will be used next May.
“I think the overtake we get is nice,” Palou said. “I think it’s good enough to set up a pass maybe in the middle of the pack. We’ll have to see.”
One of the main stories from the test was the involvement of Rinus VeeKay, who recently departed Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR) after spending his entire five-year IndyCar career with the team. He was asked to test in what he described on social media as a “last-minute opportunity” with Dale Coyne Racing.
VeeKay, who has never qualified lower than seventh for his five Indy 500s, ended Friday third on the speed charts as he sported a race suit covered with tape covering up its ECR-related logos.
With confirmed 2025 rookie Louis Foster observing from the pit stand, Graham Rahal took the mantle for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) and was fourth on the combined speed charts. Ericsson rounded out the top five for Andretti.
The test saw a number of new beginnings, including for Meyer Shank Racing as it moved from a technical alliance with Andretti to team up with Ganassi. They had four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves behind the wheel as he notched the sixth-quickest speed.
“Every time you come back here, it’s always a great feeling,” Castroneves said. “We have a lot to do, a lot to test and learning the new hybrid system. They say you cannot teach an old dog a new trick… I guess I’m learning. It’ll be interesting.
“Because of the hybrid system, a lot of the guys are ahead of the game because they already understood the way it is. It’s very small details. Especially here in a place like Indianapolis, when the details make a difference, it will make a difference in the Month of May.”
Alexander Rossi debuted with ECR after his recent move after leaving Arrow McLaren. He placed seventh and, with 133 completed, logged the most laps of any driver; a total of 1,123 laps were turned across all of the teams on a productive Friday.
“It’s gone good,” Rossi said after the morning session. “It’s been a positive morning - it was kind of plug-and-play, honestly, which is nice. I wouldn’t expect anything else of Ed Carpenter Racing around here. They’ve been strong for seemingly forever so jumped straight in, felt familiar, felt like home and we’re just getting the work done.
“It’s a lot of understanding of the fundamentals. I think as the competition in this series continues to go up, we are all searching for the next big thing that’s going to be a breakthrough and move you up a couple spots.
“Often in life and in this sport it’s easy to forget about just the basics of what makes a race car go faster around IMS. So I think that this team excels at that and we’ve already found some really positive things.”
Santino Ferrucci ran the fewest laps (with 63 completed) and was eighth overall for AJ Foyt Racing after finishing second from 22 laps in the morning session. Conor Daly was ninth for Juncos Hollinger Racing (JHR) with the team yet to announce any of its drivers for 2025.
Romain Grosjean, who joined JHR for 2024, was unavailable for this test given he is competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship season finale at Road Atlanta. So Daly, who replaced Agustin Canapino for the final five rounds in 2024 and finished third in Milwaukee, was turned to by JHR again.
Ryan Hunter-Reay tested for Indy-only team Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (DRR) having competed with the team - making the Fast 12 in qualifying - this May. DRR is another team yet to confirm its drivers.
Christian Lundgaard rounded out the speed charts for Arrow McLaren - his maiden outing for his new team after departing RLL. Arrow McLaren was the only team to field multiple drivers across the two days given Siegel’s ROP and O’Ward’s involvement in the tyre test.