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IndyCar
INDYCAR: St. Pete Practice Notebook
Marshall Pruett checks in with the three IndyCar rookies after their first practice sessions and looks into the braking issues that could affect Sunday's race.
Simon Pagenaud is ready to light things up in qualifying. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
Friday at St. Petersburg saw a mix of the expected and the unexpected throughout two hours of practice on the compact street circuit.
The plume of smoke and pools of oil that could have come from a spate of engine failures never materialized, and despite a few smaller mechanical issues, the fleet of 26 Dallara DW12s, 11 Chevrolet, five Lotus and (nine of) 10 Honda engines performed without any major dramas.
Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports driver Simon Pagenaud caught a problem with his Honda powerplant before it had a chance to do permanent damage, but the buckets of oil dry that were expected to be poured trackside and on pit lane remained in their containers.
Rubens Barrichello had a trying first day of IndyCar practice with gearbox issues limiting the 39-year-old to eight laps in the first practice session. With teams dropping a full second or more in second practice, Barrichello was playing from behind as the team worked through the list of items that were leftover from the A.M.
The Kids Continue To Be Alright
Of the other points that stood out, IndyCar’s rookie class distinguished itself with the lack of errors Pagenaud, Katherine Legge and Josef Newgarden produced. If anything, the rookie crop this year should be a match for the bar James Hinchcliffe and JR Hildebrand set in 2011.
For Pagenaud, who is essentially continuing a Champ Car career that ended after his rookie season in 2007, getting a second chance in open-wheel has come at just the right time. Rather than spend the year finding his feet like a Newgarden, a genuine Indy car rookie, Pagenaud sounds like an old veteran when discussing his ride at Schmidt Hamilton and what he wants from the car.
“I feel really blessed I have such an opportunity with a great team,” he said. “It’s a fully funded program now which is giving us a lot of confidence and resources. It means a lot to the crew and the engineers especially. I got out of the car the first day and it felt just like it did in Sebring. No we’re waiting for the track to come to us right now. We’re a little bit loose right now, but as the track picks up grip, we should move towards understeer which should become very good on the Firestone Reds. There’s not a lot to do on the car until then; if we make changes to the car now, we’ll get it wrong, so we’re being patient for the track."
The 27-year-old will face a 10-position grid penalty for the engine change that was required Friday night (the new INDYCAR rulebook puts the onus on the manufacturers to meet the minimum mileage expectation of 1850 miles between rebuilds. With a failed--or failing engine, in Simon’s case—and the need for a fresh unit before the 1850-mile threshold, a penalty is assessed), the Indianapolis resident is ready to fight to reclaim those 10 spots and more during Sunday’s 100-lap race.
“We didn’t get to run much on Friday afternoon, but if we do well, I think a top 6 is possible in qualy,” he said. “I think I excel in those situations—when the knife is under my throat. It gives me a lot of motivation to try and come back up to the front. At the end of the day, it’s racing. You know it could happen this year; it could happen to [Will] Power, it could happen to anyone. So maybe later in the year when it’s going to count even more, it could happen to someone else. If I have to start mid-pack, it isn’t the end of the world.”
Pagenaud followed our conversation by topping the final practice session before qualifying.
Katherine Legge wasn’t as fortune as Pagenaud on the time sheets after ending the day with the 26th-fastest lap in her No. 6 Lotus-powered car, but wasn’t discouraged with what came from her first full day of IndyCar activities.
“It was a challenging day; it was a new track for me,” she said. “We wouldn’t have learned anything if I’d stuck it in the fence, so we were being very conservative. We had a braking issue in the first session, and got that sorted. The team did an amazing job; I’m really impressed with them. I’m just kind of building back up to it and putting laps together. We’ll get there eventually. Overall, I’m feeling positive about the direction we’re heading in. I’m really looking forward to the race—to get that experience—just to get some race laps under my belt.”
The plume of smoke and pools of oil that could have come from a spate of engine failures never materialized, and despite a few smaller mechanical issues, the fleet of 26 Dallara DW12s, 11 Chevrolet, five Lotus and (nine of) 10 Honda engines performed without any major dramas.
Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports driver Simon Pagenaud caught a problem with his Honda powerplant before it had a chance to do permanent damage, but the buckets of oil dry that were expected to be poured trackside and on pit lane remained in their containers.
Rubens Barrichello had a trying first day of IndyCar practice with gearbox issues limiting the 39-year-old to eight laps in the first practice session. With teams dropping a full second or more in second practice, Barrichello was playing from behind as the team worked through the list of items that were leftover from the A.M.
The Kids Continue To Be Alright
Of the other points that stood out, IndyCar’s rookie class distinguished itself with the lack of errors Pagenaud, Katherine Legge and Josef Newgarden produced. If anything, the rookie crop this year should be a match for the bar James Hinchcliffe and JR Hildebrand set in 2011.
For Pagenaud, who is essentially continuing a Champ Car career that ended after his rookie season in 2007, getting a second chance in open-wheel has come at just the right time. Rather than spend the year finding his feet like a Newgarden, a genuine Indy car rookie, Pagenaud sounds like an old veteran when discussing his ride at Schmidt Hamilton and what he wants from the car.
“I feel really blessed I have such an opportunity with a great team,” he said. “It’s a fully funded program now which is giving us a lot of confidence and resources. It means a lot to the crew and the engineers especially. I got out of the car the first day and it felt just like it did in Sebring. No we’re waiting for the track to come to us right now. We’re a little bit loose right now, but as the track picks up grip, we should move towards understeer which should become very good on the Firestone Reds. There’s not a lot to do on the car until then; if we make changes to the car now, we’ll get it wrong, so we’re being patient for the track."
The 27-year-old will face a 10-position grid penalty for the engine change that was required Friday night (the new INDYCAR rulebook puts the onus on the manufacturers to meet the minimum mileage expectation of 1850 miles between rebuilds. With a failed--or failing engine, in Simon’s case—and the need for a fresh unit before the 1850-mile threshold, a penalty is assessed), the Indianapolis resident is ready to fight to reclaim those 10 spots and more during Sunday’s 100-lap race.
“We didn’t get to run much on Friday afternoon, but if we do well, I think a top 6 is possible in qualy,” he said. “I think I excel in those situations—when the knife is under my throat. It gives me a lot of motivation to try and come back up to the front. At the end of the day, it’s racing. You know it could happen this year; it could happen to [Will] Power, it could happen to anyone. So maybe later in the year when it’s going to count even more, it could happen to someone else. If I have to start mid-pack, it isn’t the end of the world.”
Pagenaud followed our conversation by topping the final practice session before qualifying.
Katherine Legge wasn’t as fortune as Pagenaud on the time sheets after ending the day with the 26th-fastest lap in her No. 6 Lotus-powered car, but wasn’t discouraged with what came from her first full day of IndyCar activities.
“It was a challenging day; it was a new track for me,” she said. “We wouldn’t have learned anything if I’d stuck it in the fence, so we were being very conservative. We had a braking issue in the first session, and got that sorted. The team did an amazing job; I’m really impressed with them. I’m just kind of building back up to it and putting laps together. We’ll get there eventually. Overall, I’m feeling positive about the direction we’re heading in. I’m really looking forward to the race—to get that experience—just to get some race laps under my belt.”
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