Marcus Ericsson topped on the last day of IndyCar preseason testing at Sebring after he pushed his Andretti Global Honda around the circuit to record the fastest time.
Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward was the fastest driver for the majority of the second and final day of NTT IndyCar preseason testing at Sebring International Raceway. However, in the last moments of the afternoon session, Andretti’s Marcus Ericsson took the lead with the No. 28 Honda, overtaking Team Penske’s Will Power, who appeared to be holding onto the top spot.
The Swede’s 51.951s lap also stood as the fastest over the course of the two-day IndyCar test with his former teammate Alex Palou and the Chip Ganassi Racing team leading the way on Monday with a 52.088s lap aboard the No. 10 Honda.
Will Power was the second fastest driver, followed closely by Pato O’Ward, who was driving the #5 Arrow McLaren entry. Tuesday marked O’Ward’s second day of running in a row; the previous day, he drove the #6 car of teammate David Malukas.
The rest of the drivers were only allowed one day to get acquainted with the new parts, which included lighter Aeroscreen and redesigned gearbox housing components.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist was fourth fastest in the No. 60 Honda, as all the leading cars finished within a tenth of a second. The only other driver who was close to Ericsson was Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal in fifth with the No. 15 Honda.
Ganassi rookies Kyffin Simpson with the No. 4 Honda and Linus Lundqvist in the No. 8 Honda finished sixth and seventh respectively, and from eighth to 10th it was A.J. Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci, Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Romain Grosjean in the No. 78 Chevy, and Ganassi’s Marcus Armstrong in the No. 11 Honda.
Felix Rosenqvist in the Meyer Shank Racing #60 and Romain Grosjean in the Juncos Hollinger Racing #77 were among the drivers who were able to use the test to get accustomed to the cars after joining new teams.
Closing out the group, Ed Carpenter Racing rookie Christian Rasmussen was 11th in the No. 20 Chevy, and Colin Braun in 12th who, on his first day in an Indy car, went faster in the No. 51 Honda than Dale Coyne Racing testing teammate Jack Harvey managed on Monday in the same afternoon session in the No. 18 DCR Honda.
Additionally, Braun picked up some crucial lap time in the Dale Coyne Racing #51 car, possibly hinting at his debut in the upcoming IndyCar season in one of the team’s open race spots.
Harvey, who drove the DCR car on the first day of the test and is also expecting to score some races with the team, finished the session 0.16 seconds faster than Braun, who put in a solid 98 laps.
The cars were tested in the same configuration they will race in the upcoming season’s opener at St. Petersburg given that the series’ new hybrid components—which have not yet been tested by any of the smaller teams—were not in use.
Over the course of the two days, 2,115 laps were completed, and an array of data was collected in advance of the 2024 season opener on March 10 in the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
2024 NTT IndyCar Preseason testing Results Sebring
| # | Driver | Time | Day of Test |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcus Ericsson | 51.9512 | Day 2 |
| 2 | Will Power | 52.0076 | Day 2 |
| 3 | Pato O’Ward | 52.0104 | Day 2 |
| 4 | Felix Rosenqvist | 52.0305 | Day 2 |
| 5 | Graham Rahal | 52.0598 | Day 2 |
| 6 | Alex Palou | 52.0883 | Day 1 |
| 7 | Christian Lundgaard | 52.1065 | Day 1 |
| 8 | Josef Newgarden | 52.1298 | Day 1 |
| 9 | Kyffin Simpson | 52.1677 | Day 2 |
| 10 | Linus Lundqvist | 52.1907 | Day 2 |
| 11 | Colton Herta | 52.1909 | Day 1 |
| 12 | Santino Ferrucci | 52.2043 | Day 2 |
| 13 | Alexander Rossi | 52.2521 | Day 1 |
| 14 | Pato O’Ward | 52.2541 | Day 1 |
| 15 | Scott Dixon | 52.2670 | Day 1 |
| 16 | Romain Grosjean | 52.2716 | Day 2 |
| 17 | Marcus Armstrong | 52.2764 | Day 2 |
| 18 | Kyle Kirkwood | 52.3341 | Day 1 |
| 19 | Christian Rasmussen | 52.4067 | Day 2 |
| 20 | Scott McLaughlin | 52.5433 | Day 1 |
| 21 | Rinus VeeKay | 52.5562 | Day 1 |
| 22 | Pietro Fittipaldi | 52.5891 | Day 1 |
| 23 | Tom Blomqvist | 52.7432 | Day 1 |
| 24 | Agustin Canapino | 52.7634 | Day 1 |
| 25 | Sting Ray Robb | 52.8353 | Day 1 |
| 26 | Colin Braun | 52.9169 | Day 2 |
| 27 | Jack Harvey | 53.0766 | Day 1 |
