– The IndyCar race weekend on the street circuit in Markham, Ontario (Canada) started with a 19-hour delay. On Saturday morning at 10:05 a.m. (4:05 p.m. CEST), the lights on the street course turned green for the first time. Overnight, the track was finally completed and approved by IndyCar on Saturday morning.
Read more Wildfires near the Nürburgring: Is the DTM race on Sunday at risk?
Since the brand-new track first had to have the dust cleared and rubber laid down, the times are secondary. Nevertheless, Mick Schumacher (RLL-Honda; 13th) showed a respectable performance. As a rookie, he was eligible to start in both parts of the group phase, which is a big advantage on a track that is new to everyone. (Result 1st Free Practice)
Schumacher is racing in Markham again in the design of Enve Composites, but not in the usual black-red color scheme, rather this time more black and white. (Car designs of Mick Schumacher in the IndyCar series 2026)
In fact, his two rookie colleagues were even faster: Caio Collet (Foyt-Chevrolet) drove a sensational second-best time, Dennis Hauger (Coyne-Honda; 10th) was faster than his much more experienced teammate Romain Grosjean (Coyne-Honda; 14th).
The best time went, as almost usual, to Alex Palou (Ganassi-Honda; 1st), who was the only one to go under the 1:15 minute mark. However, it is expected that the times will improve by several seconds.
The first feedback from the participants on the new track, which replaces the traditional street circuit at Exhibition Place in Toronto, was mostly positive. “This is really fun. We are not used to having a street circuit with so much grip. It feels more like a race track, but the walls are constantly grinning at you,” says Palou.
Read more Formula E London 1: Strong Comeback by DS-Penske
The first accident on the new track was caused by Kyffin Simpson (Ganassi-Honda; 24th), who took the wall at the exit of turn 6 and bent the suspension. There were harmless scare moments caused by Marcus Ericsson (Andretti-Honda; 7th), who was very lucky not to crash during a spin in turn 4, and David Malukas (Penske-Chevrolet; 6th), who went straight on in turn 4.
According to the Penske newcomer, this was due to a general problem that has been occurring on his car all year: “Especially on street circuits, when the tires are a bit harder, we just can’t get the temperature up. We’ve been struggling with that all season.”
Will Power (Andretti-Honda 5th), who had several critical moments in practice, and Hauger, who was leading the field at that time, got away with slight “brushes” against the wall.
- DTMWildfires near the Nürburgring: Is the DTM race on Sunday at risk?
- MotoGPMotoGP tires: Who pays for them and how expensive are they really?
- DTMDTM race Nürburgring 1: Cairoli celebrates third season win, twelve cars finish
- Formula 1What is behind the Cadillac shake-up – and why now
The second practice starts at 8:30 p.m. CEST. We will add the report on this practice to this article.
Read more Formula E London 1: Pascal Wehrlein wins and takes the lead in the standings
