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Motorsport

Sport

IndyCar Sebring test: Alex Palou tops the speed charts on Day 1

IndyCar Mick Schumacher Romain Grosjean Sebring (Facility) Dennis Hauger Caio Collet Dale Coyne Racing Alex Palou Ganassi Prema Christian Lundgaard

Almost all IndyCar teams are visiting Sebring International Raceway in Florida this week. The traditional concrete track with its numerous bumps has been used by teams in the top US open-wheel division for decades to prepare for the road and street races of the upcoming season.

This is a two-day test, with the field divided into two groups on both days. Group 1 drove on Monday morning and will also drive on Tuesday afternoon. Group 2 took to the track on Monday afternoon and will also drive on Tuesday morning, with a total of 23 cars recording a lap.

Palou still leads the pack

One of the reasons for dividing the field into two groups is that the entire Sebring layout will not be used, but rather the short 2.7-kilometer circuit, as is customary for IndyCar winter testing. This version of the track only includes turns 4 to 13 of the complete layout (6.0 kilometers with 17 turns) and has a temporary, divided pit lane.

The fastest time of the day was set in Group 1 by four-time and reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou (Ganassi-Honda) with a lap time of 52.626 seconds.

Second fastest on Monday was Felix Rosenqvist (Shank-Honda), followed by Rinus VeeKay, who was getting used to his new ride at Juncos Hollinger Racing. Fourth fastest was two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden (Penske-Chevrolet).

Marcus Armstrong, who was the fastest in Group 2, completed the top five on the first day. When Group 2 took to the track in the afternoon, it was significantly warmer than in the morning, with an air temperature of up to 24 degrees Celsius.

Mick Schumacher working towards season-opener

Among the three rookies - Caio Collet, Dennis Hauger, and Mick Schumacher - reigning Indy NXT champion Hauger was the fastest for Dale Coyne Racing. The Norwegian went out in Group 2 and finished the day in P18 with a time of 53.413 seconds, just ahead of Collett, who drives for A.J. Foyt Racing.

Mick Schumacher takes to the track at Sebring for the first time (Photo: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images)

Schumacher, who drove in Group 1 like Collet, finished 23rd in the day's results with a time of 54.269 seconds. However, his lap time is not the main focus of this test. "The main reason we're doing this test is to prepare for St. Pete," Schumacher said in an interview with Motorsport-Total.com at the track.

"St. Pete is what we're all about," said the IndyCar rookie, who drives for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL), referring to the season opener on March 1 on the street circuit in St. Petersburg, Florida. According to Schumacher, the "short course" in Sebring that is being driven this week has "a few corners that are comparable to those in St. Pete."

Welcome to Sebring, Mick 👋 pic.twitter.com/pSqW2R7KNk
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) February 9, 2026

"That's why," said Schumacher, "this is a good place to work on exactly that. And that's exactly what we're focusing on. For us, it's simply a matter of ticking a few things off our checklist before the first race," said the German.

The Sebring test is Schumacher's second circuit test after his IndyCar test debut on October 13, 2025, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Apart from that , he completed his first oval test last week at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Romain Grosjean tests for Dale Coyne Racing

While Schumacher, Hauger, and Collet drove their first IndyCar laps on the Sebring circuit on Monday, Romain Grosjean made his comeback. The Swiss-born Frenchman was back in an IndyCar for the first time since the 2024 season finale, driving his former employer Dale Coyne Racing's car with the number 18.

The fact that Grosjean is in the cockpit at the Sebring test may mean we could see him on the grid this year, but he is not the only driver hoping to race as Hauger's teammate in 2026. A decision on whether Grosjean will race for DCR and, if so, which races, is still pending.

Grosjean drove his last IndyCar race in 2024, then for Juncos Hollinger Racing. Last year, he was signed as a reserve driver at Prema, but did not get to test or race there. As a possible driver for Dale Coyne Racing in 2026, Grosjean would return to the team he raced for as an IndyCar rookie in the 2021 season.

Ed Carpenter Racing was on site on Monday but did not take to the track. Prema is the only team not present at the Sebring test. The racing team, which entered the IndyCar series a year ago, has been fighting for its future for months. The likelihood of Prema competing in the season opener in St. Petersburg, Florida, in three weeks' time is becoming less and less likely with each passing week. Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman drove for Prema in the 2025 season, with Shwartzman sensationally taking pole position at the Indy 500 as a rookie.