– The second Free Practice (FP2) for the Indianapolis Grand Prix of the 2026 IndyCar season also took place on Friday under dry conditions, but the clouds over the Indianapolis circuit were already noticeably darker than in the first Free Practice (FP1) in the morning.
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IndyCar rookie Mick Schumacher (Rahal-Honda) managed a significant improvement in his position in the 25-car field during the afternoon practice. After P22 in FP1, he placed P7 in FP2 and thus in the top 10.
In terms of lap time, Schumacher was faster than in the morning. In the first part of the group phase of FP2, he set a lap time of 1:10.790 minutes. This was even the best time in this 12-minute segment. On the very next lap, Schumacher then had a harmless spin exiting turn 10 (just before the timing line). However, he was not the only one.
The other two rookies in the field – Dennis Hauger (Coyne-Honda) and Caio Collet (Foyt-Chevrolet) – who, like Schumacher, are eligible to race on road courses in both group parts of the two free practices, finished the afternoon session in P14 and P20 respectively.
The session best time went, as in the morning, once again to the four-time and reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou (Ganassi-Honda), who is also the current points leader in 2026 (result: FP2 for the Indianapolis Grand Prix).
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During the afternoon practice, apart from Mick Schumacher’s spin, there were further harmless spins by Will Power (Andretti-Honda; 17) and also by Schumacher’s Rahal teammate Graham Rahal (24th), who struggled with gear shift problems. “I think the problem was the clutch,” said Rahal.
There were also technical problems with the Andretti-Honda of current second in the standings Kyle Kirkwood, who nevertheless finished the session as second fastest behind Alex Palou.
Qualifying for the Indianapolis Grand Prix begins at 23:25 CEST (Central European Summer Time) and according to the weather forecast will very likely take place on a wet track at least at the start. For the race on Saturday, however, the weather forecast predicts completely dry conditions.
