– The IndyCar race weekend on the street circuit in Markham, Ontario (Canada) started with a 19-hour delay. On Saturday morning at 10:05 AM (4:05 PM CEST), the lights on the street circuit turned green for the first time. Overnight, the track was finally completed and approved by IndyCar on Saturday morning.
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In the second free practice, Mick Schumacher (RLL-Honda; 5th) confirmed the good impression from the first practice (see below). Even better than the German was his teammate Louis Foster (RLL-Honda; 1st), who even set the fastest time. This means Schumacher now has every chance to get past the Q1 hurdle for the first time this season and maybe even advance further. (Result 2nd Free Practice)
Except for McLaren, who are somewhat behind their own expectations, there is currently no real pecking order among the teams. On this track, the driver makes the difference so far. It is mainly about judging the right speed at several points. “You really have to grit your teeth here,” says points leader and defending champion Alex Palou (Ganassi-Honda; 7th).
Photo gallery: The car designs of Mick Schumacher in the 2026 IndyCar season
Foster was fastest ahead of Marcus Ericsson (Andretti-Honda; 2nd) and David Malukas (Penske-Chevrolet; 3rd). Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti-Honda; 4th) also placed ahead of Schumacher.
Severe crash by Will Power
In the second session, the limits of the new track were also tested properly for the first time. Numerous drivers repeatedly missed braking points. But then there was a big crash at the end of the collective session.
Will Power (Andretti-Honda; 19th) had been spectacular all day, always sliding and driving close to the walls. Then he overdid it in turn 10 and had a massive impact. The Australian was uninjured. However, such a crash in the race shortly after the start or a restart would likely cause a multi-car pileup.
“It was actually a gentle impact that unfortunately caused a lot of damage,” says Power. “My mistake. I somehow went through turn 9 and went too far outside. I missed the turn-in point, and then probably dust settled on the tires. I was really attacking. Unlucky.”
After a brief inspection, Andretti Global decided not to change the chassis but to repair the existing car until qualifying.
Repairs are also needed at A.J. Foyt Enterprises, as Caio Collet (Foyt-Chevrolet; 9th) caused an early end to the session when he crashed in turn 8 two minutes before the end of the group phase, though this caused far less damage than Power’s crash.
Although the drivers went back on track for the last two minutes later, the tires were too cooled down for any improvements to be possible.
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Qualifying starts at 12:30 AM CEST.
How the first free practice went
Since the brand-new circuit initially had to have dust cleared away 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 driving again in Markham 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 2026 IndyCar series)
In fact, his two rookie colleagues were even faster: Caio Collet (Foyt-Chevrolet) sensationally set the second-best time, Dennis Hauger (Coyne-Honda; 10th) was faster than his much more experienced teammate Romain Grosjean (Coyne-Honda; 14th).
The fastest 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.
The first crash on the new track was by Kyffin Simpson (Ganassi-Honda; 24th), who took the wall at the exit of turn 6 and bent the suspension. There were harmless scares from Marcus Ericsson (Andretti-Honda; 7th), who was very lucky not to crash after a spin in turn 4, and David Malukas (Penske-Chevrolet; 6th), who went straight 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 temperature into them. We’ve been struggling with that all season.”
Will Power (Andretti-Honda; 5th), who had several critical moments in the practice, and Hauger, who was even leading the field at that time, got away with slight “brushes” against the wall.
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The second practice starts at 8:30 PM CEST. We will add the report for this practice in this article.
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