Narrow fastest time for Andretti driver Colton Herta on the first of two days of the last major IndyCar test before the 2022 season opener – Ganassi gives Kevin Magnussen a go
At Sebring International Raceway’s short track this week, IndyCar teams will have their first and last opportunity to test together before the 2022 season opener.All teams are entered for the two-day test on Monday and Tuesday, with only the rookies running on both days.
On the first day of testing, there were a total of 17 drivers who completed numerous laps on the short Sebring layout traditionally used for IndyCar testing. The fastest time of the day was set by Colton Herta (Andretti-Honda) with 51.851 seconds. This meant that the youngster in Michael Andretti’s team led the 17-strong field, albeit just ahead of another youngster.
David Malukas, runner-up in the 2021 Indy Lights season and one of the rookies for the 2022 IndyCar season, was only 0.007 seconds slower than Herta in his Coyne Honda. Third-place Andretti rookie Romain Grosjean made sure there were three Honda drivers in the top three, with the top five rounded out by two ex-champions in the employ of the Chevrolet-fired Penske team, Josef Newgarden and Will Power.
In the second half of the top 10 on the first of two days of testing were Graham Rahal (Rahal-Honda), Felix Rosenqvist (McLaren-Chevrolet), Alexander Rossi (Andretti-Honda), Scott McLaughlin (Penske-Chevrolet) and Indy Lights champion Kyle Kirkwood (Foyt-Chevrolet), who, like Malukas, is one of the rookies in the 2022 IndyCar driver field.
Also a rookie, but not enrolled for the full 2022 IndyCar season, is Tatiana Calderon. The Colombian will drive the 11 Foyt Chevrolet in all circuit and street circuit races. Who will drive the oval races in this car has not yet been confirmed. In the meantime, J.R. Hildebrand is considered the favourite.
As for Calderon, on her first IndyCar day, which was not a private test, she was less than 0.7 seconds behind the leader. Among the 17 drivers, she finished P16.
Ganassi gives Kevin Magnussen a chance
Along for the ride on Monday was someone who was unceremoniously re-registered: Kevin Magnussen drove the 10 Ganassi Honda in place of defending champion Alex Palou. While Palou won’t be driving until Tuesday, Magnussen got a chance on Monday to get in the mix for possible IndyCar entries in the future.
With 143 laps, Magnussen turned more than anyone else on Monday. The Dane finished last on the timesheet, just under a second behind. Magnussen has already contested one IndyCar race: Elkhart Lake 2021 for McLaren SP as a replacement for Felix Rosenqvist
At Ganassi, Magnussen has been part of the sports car programme in the IMSA series since last year, but he will no longer drive the full season there in 2022, only the endurance races. His main assignment this year is the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with Peugeot, but also not the full season.
Test conclusion on Tuesday
In addition to defending champion Alex Palou, Ganassi teammates Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Jimmie Johnson were not in action at Monday’s IndyCar test. Also off were Takuma Sato (Coyne-Honda), Dalton Kellett (Foyt-Chevrolet) as well as Conor Daly and Rinus VeeKay (both Carpenter-Chevrolet) and also Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud (both Shank-Honda).
The ten drivers named will test on Tuesday along with Malukas, Kirkwood, Calderon and Callum Ilott (Juncos-Chevrolet), who will race as rookies on both days.
The 2022 IndyCar season opener is set for the last weekend of February (25-27) in St. Petersburg, Florida (2022 IndyCar calendar).
Result IndyCar Test at Sebring (Monday)
01st Colton Herta (Andretti-Honda) – 51.851 seconds
02nd David Malukas (Coyne-Honda) – 51.858
03rd Romain Grosjean (Andretti-Honda) – 52.021
04th Josef Newgarden (Penske-Chevrolet) – 52.059
05 Will Power (Penske-Chevrolet) – 52.211
06 Graham Rahal (Rahal-Honda) – 52.255
07th Felix Rosenqvist (McLaren-Chevrolet) – 52,281
08th Alexander Rossi (Andretti-Honda) – 52.297
09 Scott McLaughlin (Penske-Chevrolet) – 52.329
10th Jack Harvey (Rahal-Honda) – 52,362
11th Christian Lundgaard (Rahal-Honda) – 52.373
12th Kyle Kirkwood (Foyt-Chevrolet) – 52.389
13th Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti-Honda) – 52,407
14th Patricio O’Ward (McLaren-Chevrolet) – 52.424
15th Callum Ilott (Juncos-Chevrolet) – 52,481
16th Tatiana Calderon (Foyt-Chevrolet) – 52,540
17th Kevin Magnussen (Ganassi-Honda) – 52.839
