Saturday morning’s 45-minute practice session on the streets of Toronto saw light sprinkles, lots of spins and a red flag complicate matters. Between the bouts of adversity, Andretti Autosport held onto its front-running pace with Colton Herta (1m00.5657s) and Kyle Kirkwood (+0.0315s) posting a 1-2 for the Honda-powered team.
Chip Ganassi Racing was close behind and produced a 3-4 with Marcus Ericsson (0.0693s) and Alex Palou (+0.1145s). Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward was the first Chevy representative in fifth (+0.1397s) and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Christian Lundgaard completed the top six (+0.1709s) in a frenetic run that was capped by the first red flag of the event.
Once the crashed car of Arrow McLaren’s Felix Rosenqvist — who appeared to be uninjured — was cleared from the circuit, the session resumed with 7m07s left on the clock and most teams sent their drivers out for one final qualifying simulation run. But it was a proverbial traffic jam that led to no significant changes in the running order as the majority of the 27-deep field caught each other on their laps and backed off or tried to slow leading into the last corners to create a gap, which led to large packs of drivers crawling in first gear.
Outside of the top six, Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden was fastest for his squad in ninth, but all three of their cars were oversteering messes on and off throttle. Dale Coyne Racing’s David Malukas impressed in 10th, as did Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Callum Ilott in 11th. After propping up the bottom of the field on Friday, A.J. Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci found a ton of pace and improved 10 positions to 17th.
What happens when you go off on a street course?@AlexanderRossi drove through the Princes' Gates in Toronto. #INDYCAR
📺 : @Peacock pic.twitter.com/tX4nv5LtGz
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) July 15, 2023
Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi was miserable in 25th, and after struggling to find clear track to make a final high-speed run, Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist ended the session in 27th.
UP NEXT: Qualifying, 2:50pm ET, streaming via Peacock