Everything that happened on Toronto IndyCar day one

Alexander Rossi topped the first practice session of the weekend as IndyCar began its first race event outside of the United States since 2019 in Toronto.

Graham Rahal topped most of the session on the hard tyre and four red flags then reduced the running on the soft tyres that will be used in qualifying for the final 14 minutes.

Those soft tyres are now handed back until qualifying, so cannot be used in tomorrow’s second practice.

Under the penultimate red flag, the Andretti Autosport crew changed all four springs on Rossi’s car and made adjustments under the bodywork, which clearly worked as he leapt to the top of the order with just over seven minutes to go in the session.

Simon Pagenaud told The Race earlier this week that this track – where he won the last race in 2019 – and its slow corners were one of his “specialities” and his Andretti-affiliated Meyer Shank car popped into second as he was the last runner to switch to the soft tyres.

He reckons Toronto and Nashville, the remaining street circuits, are his best chances of a maiden win with the team.

Rahal rounded out the top three despite going into the run off at Turn 1 on his last flying lap, but this result will encourage a Rahal Letterman Lanigan team that has struggled for most of this year and is yet to score a top five across three cars.

Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson was the the top Ganassi car in fourth – after being crowned number one in The Race IndyCar Podcast’s top 10 drivers of the year so far – with his title rival Josef Newgarden taking fifth in practice.

McLaren’s Felix Rosenqvist is looking to bounce back from an engine-related retirement at Mid-Ohio last time out and took sixth, ahead of Colton Herta.

Herta tested a McLaren Formula 1 car at Portimao earlier this week in a hectic spell between Toronto and Mid-Ohio, where all four Andretti drivers were hit by one of their team-mates, Herta being on the end of a Romain Grosjean misjudgement.

Scott Dixon took eighth ahead of Will Power, while the most newsworthy driver on the grid took 10th.

Alex Palou made it three Ganassi cars in the top 10, going fastest on the soft tyre earlier in the session on the reigning champion’s first visit to Toronto as he made his debut in 2020, a year after Toronto’s last appearance. He was the quickest of the Toronto newcomers, just ahead of Christian Lundgaard.

Palou spoke to the media earlier on Friday about his future, as Ganassi and McLaren both claim to have him under contract next year.

The first red flag came about for a track inspection for a patch at Turn 1. The track is extremely bumpy and worn-in.

Callum Ilott faces an uphill challenge this weekend after spinning at Turn 1 with 30 minutes to go in the session.

While Juncos Hollinger doesn’t have its street course package as dialled in as its road course set-up, it’s also Ilott’s first time in Toronto and the light crash ruled him out of the rest of the session and any chance to use the soft tyre before qualifying.

.@callum_ilott is the first one with contact this weekend in Toronto.

WATCH LIVE:@PeacockTV: https://t.co/7aweZcszVk#IndyTO // @hondaindy pic.twitter.com/uEtW1SS48M

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 15, 2022

For the ninth time in practice this year, Jimmie Johnson brought out a red after a spin following minimal contact with the wall at the last corner with 19 minutes to go.

Meyer Shank Racing’s Helio Castroneves also lost the rear of the car at the same corner with three minutes left.

Practice 1 Results