Alex Palou led first practice for the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The 25-year-old Spaniard jumped to the top spot at the closing of the session, having completed 18 laps with a best single lap time of 1m10.455s around the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.
Callum Ilott looked sporty for a second race weekend, leading before Palou took over with the fastest lap and ending up second just 0.0038s behind. Much of the session was by led the most consistent driver of 2022, Will Power as he trailed the Chip Ganassi Racing pilot by 0.0722s in third.
The session was coming to a close, with less than two minutes left the red flag was displayed for a spun car. Helio Castroneves was sitting at the entrance of pit-lane with his No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda placed backwards.
IndyCar gave the teams that extra minute to get out on the track. Multiple drivers took the opportunity including Palou, clocking the fastest lap on fresh tires.
During the install lap just as the opening practice started, Scott Dixon had light smoke coming from the back of his car. The No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda had a new exhaust system fitted, with the issue coming from the resin coating and ultimately being a non-factor.
Devlin DeFrancesco headed into Turn 1 carrying too much speed early in practice, locking up and flat spotting the right front tire. Both front tires had smoke appear upon braking, but being a rookie has its perks, DeFrancesco had an extra set of rubber in the pits.
Andretti Autosport teammate, Alexander Rossi was putting together a solid lap mid-way through the session. He had a brief moment heading off Turn 10 and overdrove the corner, lifting the right side tires off the ground.
| Position | Car No. | Driver | Lap Time | Diff. | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Alex Palou | 1:10.4555 | 18 | |
| 2 | 77 | Callum Ilott | 1:10.4593 | -0.0038 | 19 |
| 3 | 12 | Will Power | 1:10.5277 | -0.0722 | 17 |
| 4 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 1:10.5277 | -0.1570 | 16 |
| 5 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | 1:10.6125 | -0.2553 | 15 |
| 6 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | 1:10.7108 | -0.2568 | 18 |
| 7 | 60 | Simon Pagenaud | 1:10.7123 | -0.2904 | 13 |
| 8 | 45 | Jack Harvey | 1:10.7459 | -0.3262 | 15 |
| 9 | 06 | Helio Castroneves | 1:10.7911 | -0.3356 | 13 |
| 10 | 26 | Colton Herta | 1:10.8352 | -0.3797 | 15 |
| 11 | 5 | Pato O'Ward | 1:10.8584 | -0.4029 | 12 |
| 12 | 28 | Romain Grosjean | 1:10.8597 | -0.4042 | 17 |
| 13 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 1:10.8632 | -0.4077 | 18 |
| 14 | 30 | Christian Lundgaard (R) | 1:10.8853 | -0.4298 | 17 |
| 15 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | 1:10.8906 | -0.4351 | 17 |
| 16 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | 1:10.9343 | -0.4788 | 17 |
| 17 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | 1:10.9543 | -0.4988 | 15 |
| 18 | 18 | David Malukas (R) | 1:10.9703 | -0.5148 | 20 |
| 19 | 20 | Conor Daly | 1:11.0008 | -0.5453 | 15 |
| 20 | 29 | Devlin DeFrancesco (R) | 1:11.0064 | -0.5509 | 18 |
| 21 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | 1:11.0720 | -0.6165 | 13 |
| 22 | 51 | Takuma Sato | 1:11.1887 | -0.7332 | 15 |
| 23 | 14 | Kyle Kirkwood (R) | 1:11.5867 | -1.1312 | 16 |
| 24 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | 1:11.6603 | -1.2048 | 22 |
| 25 | 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 1:12.0074 | -1.5519 | 14 |
| 26 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | 1:12.2094 | -1.7539 | 18 |
| 27 | 11 | Tatiana Calderon (R) | 1:12.4361 | -1.9806 | 11 |
