The two-day IndyCar preseason test on the short circuit of Sebring International Raceway ended on Tuesday with Marcus Armstrong (Shank-Honda) setting the fastest time of the day. And compared to the fastest Monday time, set by defending champion Alex Palou (Ganassi-Honda), Armstrong’s fast lap of 52.372 seconds was ultimately 0.254 seconds faster.
Meyer Shank Racing, is once again collaborating technically this year with Chip Ganassi Racing, the three-car team for which Palou has driven for en route to his four IndyCar titles.
Last year’s best time at the Sebring test was set by then-Penske driver Will Power at 52.255 seconds. This year, Power will be competing for Andretti Global. It’s not only a change of team, but also a change of engine partner as he moves to Honda from Chevrolet. After finishing P17 in Monday’s daily standings, Power finished P4 in Tuesday’s daily standings.
Will Power in his new ride, the #26 Andretti Honda
Photo: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images
Between Armstrong and Power on Tuesday were Power’s Andretti teammate Kyle Kirkwood and Ganassi veteran Scott Dixon. Penske driver Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top five.
The field was again divided into two groups for the second day of testing, with Group 2 driving in the morning and Group 1 in the afternoon, as previously announced. On Monday, it had been the other way around. The two fastest times of the day were set in the cooler morning hours. In the afternoon, it was even a little warmer than on Monday, with a high of 25 degrees Celsius.
Mick Schumacher improves
Mick Schumacher, one of three rookies on the starting grid for the 2026 IndyCar season, finished 22nd in the day’s standings. Compared to his time on Monday, the newcomer at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) improved by more than 0.8 seconds. So, Schumacher is still fully on track in his preparations for the season.
Mick Schumacher pursued a consistent plan during the Sebring test
Photo: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images
“Lap time doesn’t really count,” said Schumacher. “It doesn’t really matter. The only time it really matters is when we go to St. Pete and do the first qualifying.
Some people will do only Sebring testing, so they will actually perform to what the Sebring standards are like. Some people prepare St. Pete and some people will do some other jobs, which we don’t know about. We know what we are doing. We want to do our job and prepare the right things in our opinion.
Hunter McElrea tests all day for Ed Carpenter Racing
While 23 drivers were on track on Monday, there were 24 for Tuesday’s sessions. For Ed Carpenter Racing, who had skipped Monday, put the the team’s new simulator driver behind the wheel: Hunter McElrea.
The New Zealander has completed only one IndyCar race so far, in the 2024 season for Dale Coyne Racing. On Tuesday in Sebring, McElrea was allowed to drive both in the morning and in the afternoon because he wasn’t on the track at all on Monday. McElrea finished a strong eighth in Tuesday’s daily standings.
The first of 18 planned races is less than three weeks away, on March 1, on the street circuit in St. Petersburg, Florida, and there will be one last two-day winter test. It will be another oval test next week (February 17-18), the teams will be testing at Phoenix Raceway.
Phoenix is back on the race calendar for the first time since 2018, as the second stop of the season on March 7. It will be the first of six oval races this season.
IndyCar test results in Sebring (Tuesday):
1. Marcus Armstrong (Shank-Honda) – 52.372 seconds (Group 2)
2. Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti-Honda) – 52.479 (Group 1)
3. Scott Dixon (Ganassi-Honda) – 52.514 (Group 2)
4. Will Power (Andretti-Honda) – 52.611 (Group 2)
5. Scott McLaughlin (Penske-Chevrolet) – 52.636 (Group 2)
6. Felix Rosenqvist (Shank-Honda) – 52.702 (Group 1)
7. Santino Ferrucci (Foyt-Chevrolet) – 52.715 (Group 2)
8. Hunter McElrea (Carpenter-Chevrolet) – 52.729 (Groups 1 and 2)
9. Marcus Ericsson (Andretti-Honda) – 52.823 (Group 1)
10. Rinus VeeKay (Juncos-Chevrolet) – 52.845 (Group 1)
11. Alex Palou (Ganassi-Honda) – 52.874 (Group 1)
12. Caio Collet (Foyt-Chevrolet) – 52.891 (Group 1)
13. Josef Newgarden (Penske-Chevrolet) – 53.018 (Group 1)
14. Patricio O’Ward (McLaren-Chevrolet) – 53.036 (Group 1)
15. Christian Lundgaard (McLaren-Chevrolet) – 53.085 (Group 2)
16. David Malukas (Penske-Chevrolet) – 53.167 (Group 1)
17. Louis Foster (Rahal-Honda) – 53.177 (Group 2)
18. Romain Grosjean (Coyne-Honda) – 53.220 (Group 1)
19. Dennis Hauger (Coyne-Honda) – 53.226 (Group 2)
20. Kyffin Simpson (Ganassi-Honda) – 53.228 (Group 2)
21. Nolan Siegel (McLaren-Chevrolet) – 53.286 (Group 2)
22. Mick Schumacher (Rahal-Honda) – 53.430 (Group 1)
23. Sting Ray Robb (Juncos-Chevrolet) – 53.509 (Group 2)
24. Graham Rahal (Rahal-Honda) – 53.519 (Group 1)
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