The highly anticipated month of May kicks off with IndyCar returning to Barber Motorsports Park for the fourth round of the 2025 season.
The Alabama Grand Prix begins the first of five weeks of coverage, building up to the much-awaited Indianapolis 500 at the end of the month.
Last time out around Long Beach, Kyle Kirkwood kept an eager Alex Palou behind him to secure his first win of the season, and placed himself in contention for the title. Palou enters the weekend with a steady advantage of 34 points. Can the Spaniard hold onto his lead? Or will Kirkwood inch towards him?
Indy NXT – Last Time in St. Petersburg
A Tricky Practice Session
Reports of rainy weather plagued the build-up to coverage, with conditions meant to worsen over the course of the weekend. However, as practice went underway, the weather remained dry, giving the drivers ample time to put some flying laps in.
Marcus Ericsson topped the opening IndyCar practice session with a 1:07.7470, with Palou and Colton Herta rounding out the top three. Although the main headline from the session was drivers struggling with the tricky 2.38-mile long track. Scott McLaughlin was the first to have an issue, running onto the grass, but quickly dodging contact with the Turn 17 corner. A few moments later, the New Zealander ran sideways, although he saved the car from what could’ve been a significant hit.
Palou remained at the top of the timing boards for a majority of the session before Herta took the spotlight and put in the fastest lap of 1:08.1000.
Like with all practice sessions, the drivers were split into two groups for a practice simulation.
Felix Rosenqvist had a scare during his flying lap, locking up and running onto the gravel. Group two’s qualifying simulation ran cleanly with no major issues. As the session came to a close, Ericsson put in the session’s best time of 1:07.7474, although Palou tried to dethrone the Andretti Global driver of the top stop, he was unable to.
Slippery Surfaces Causing Troubles
The fair weather from the previous day’s practice couldn’t be replicated in practice 2. Heavy rain and storms hit the circuit overnight, leaving the track slippery for the upcoming session. After 40 minutes, David Malukas topped the timing boards ahead of Palou and Christian Lundgaard.
The drivers remained cautious with track conditions, with drivers like Palou opting not to head out to test the circuit. Ten minutes into the session, Rinus VeeKay jumped to the top of the scoreboard with a 1:09.150.
VeeKay was the first driver to spin, losing the car on the entry to the final corner and sliding into a spin. Many drivers were struggling with the track conditions, and Pato O’Ward was the next driver to have a significant issue.
A big shunt for O’Ward
O’Ward hit the barriers, stating he ‘lost the rears’, at the same spot Veekay lost his car. The red flag was thrown, and the drivers headed into pit lane. The Arrow McLaren car left the scene with only a cracked front wing, a clear testament to the significant work the Barber Motorsport Circuit has done with its safety.
The track went back to green flag conditions with Malukas taking the top of the board with a 1:08.166. Conditions were beginning to ramp up, with the rain hitting the circuit. The star of Friday’s practice session was next to have a scare, with the Swede narrowly avoiding his car from flipping.
The Andretti Global driver went in at the Turn 12 corner at 166 miles per hour, skidding onto the gravel, the left side of his car got stuck threatening a flip. Fortunately, Ericsson’s car landed the right way, missing out on what would’ve been a big shunt. Ericsson’s car suffered from issues with the underbody, rear wing and suspension.
In the closing minutes, Veekay locked up the rears and spun onto the gravel after the Turn 5 corner. Jacob Abel was another driver to slide off the track, with track conditions getting progressively more wet. As the session came to a close, Malukas held onto the fastest time with Palou and Lundgaard rounding out the top three.
Qualifying
Palou took his first pole position of the season, marking a strong start to his month of May. McLaughlin joined the Spaniard on the first-row with Herta and Will Power slotting in behind. Palou’s closest title rival’s Lundgaard and Kirkwood start with a disadvantage from 12th and 18th, respectively.
The weather brightened up but the slippery surfaces remained, making the next hour a challenge for the drivers. Power at the bottom of the pack, shot into sixth, with his first appearance of the season in Round 2. Ericsson wasn’t so lucky, unable to enter the next stage of qualifying. Santino Ferrucci, Alexander Rossi, Christian Rasmussen, Connor Daly, Graham Rahal and Abel joined Ericsson in elimination.
Palou, McLaughlin, Marcus Armstrong, O’Ward, Nolan Siegel and Power advanced through to the next round.
Big names exiting the first round
In the second group of qualifying, Scott Dixon in the final 20 seconds, ran off the track and into the hot stop area of gravel which has been a challenge for other drivers.
This hindered his qualifying time, meaning the New Zealander didn’t advance to the next stage. Another big exit was Kirkwood, who time slotted him into 18th – a disappointing position for the Flordian. Alongside those drivers, Rosenqvist, Callum Ilott, Malukas, Sting Ray Robb, Robert Schwartzman and Devlin Defrancesco all exited in the first round of qualifying.
A strong time from rookie Louis Foster, secured his place in Round 2 with a 1:07.732. Joining Foster was Herta, Josef Newgarden, Lundgaard, Kyffin Simpson and VeeKay.
Continuing his strong form, VeeKay made his first Fast 6 appearance with Dale Coyne Racing. Power topped the session ahead of Palou, Siegel in the Arrow McLaren knocked his teammate Lundgaard out of the Fast 6 – O’Ward joined the Dane in exiting. Newgarden had another disappointing qualifying, unable to join his two teammates in the next stage. Herta rounded out the drivers heading into the race for pole position.
Fight for Pole
As the fight for pole went underway, McLaughlin looked to add to Team Penske’s notorious record around the circuit. However, he was unable to edge Palou. Palou in the final run of the session rounded green times in the final sector of the track to secure his first pole position of the season.
In the second-row is Herta and Power and behind them starting in the third row is Veekay and Siegel.
Can Palou add another win to his name or will Team Penske add a ninth win to their record around the circuit? IndyCar returns with the Alabama Grand Prix which takes place on Sunday, the 4th of May.
Featured Image Credits: James Black via IndyCar Media Centre
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