Romain Grosjean started his first day with Andretti Autosport leading the timesheets in opening practice on Friday afternoon, but Saturday morning would be a different story.
Roughly 25 minutes into the second practice, the Swiss-born Frenchman drove his No. 28 DHL Honda directly into the back of Takuma Sato heading into Turn 10, lifting the rear of the No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Honda off the ground. The incident brought out the second red flag of the 45-minute session, with Jack Harvey’s earlier incident at Turn 9 being the first.
Early morning traffic jam at the @GPSTPETE.
The red flag is back out for an incident involving @RGrosjean and @TakumaSatoRacer.#INDYCAR // #FirestoneGP pic.twitter.com/TAHrDY8Mbs
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) February 26, 2022
Although Grosjean drove his battered challenger back to pit lane, with a broken front wing and possible damage to the suspension, both he and Sato were early retirements from the session.
To his credit, Sato, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, took a moment to share his view with Marty Snyder of NBC Sports.
“I don’t know what he was thinking.”@TakumaSatoRacer is checked, released and frustrated after contact with @RGrosjean that ended his practice session.#INDYCAR // #FirestoneGP // @GPSTPETE pic.twitter.com/HlM3lrSPJD
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) February 26, 2022
Qualifying at the challenging 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit is set for later today at 12:30-1:45 p.m. ET, and will stream live on Peacock and the IndyCar Radio Network.
