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Scott McLaughlin, Felix Rosenqvist run off track but make no contact.
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Rain expected to mess with Saturday qualifying.
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Marcus Ericsson, of Andretti Global, leads field with fastest lap.
Marcus Ericsson topped the NTT IndyCar Series leaderboard Friday during opening practice for Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park.
But what raised eyebrows most was who had trouble navigating the 17-turn, natural-terrain road course at Birmingham.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, winner of the series’ past two races at this scenic 2.3-mile circuit, skated into the grass coming out of Turn 17 and early in the 80-minute session but continued on in the No. 3 Good Ranchers Chevrolet. In a later incident, McLaughlin avoided contact, using a skillful power slide in Turn 14.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist also went off the track and into the gravel with the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda. He, too, powered back onto the racing surface after making no contact.
Scott McLaughlin was quickest in Friday practice at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Ala. Penske Entertainment/Paul Hurley
Colton Herta, Ericsson’s Andretti Global for Curb Agajanian teammate and third-fastest Friday in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda, said he figured the track’s slickness was a mixed result of tire compounds, the surface condition, and the breezy conditions.
“It was quite windy when we first started the session. That can have a big effect on these cars that rely on so much over-the-top aerodynamics,” Herta said. That 17th turn, he said, “is a fast corner, so yeah, I think it was tricky at times with how the wind was, but I think it was somewhat straightforward if you had a good balance, so maybe they were struggling a little bit at that point.”
Mother Nature might not be done with the IndyCar contingent. Rain is forecast for Saturday, so Friday’s practice opportunity was especially key at this facility, one of the most physically demanding ones on the calendar. With drivers still experimenting with tires and adjusting to the effects of the hybrid engine at Barber for the first time, this could be—as Pato O’Ward said Friday—“Surprise, surprise I guess.”
O’Ward said, “We are expecting rain tomorrow, but it’s obviously under no one’s control besides Mother Nature. It can say that it’s going to be maybe crazy, and then it decides to kind of clean up a little bit or maybe a window opens up in qualifying where half of it’s going to be dry and half of it not. It doesn’t look like that, but you can’t count any of that out.”
Ericsson clocked a best lap of 1 minute, 7.7470 seconds in the No. 28 Bryant Honda. It came during the 40-minute session that was open to all cars, and he was using the Firestone alternate compound tires, which provide more grip but faster wear. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou was second-fastest.
