The Month of May officially got underway on Friday as IndyCar returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for Practice 1 ahead of the 2026 Sonsio Grand Prix — and the opening session quickly reinforced a growing theme of the season: the field is still chasing Alex Palou.
Palou topped the first practice session with a 1:10.0904 lap, leading a top ten that featured Graham Rahal, Kyle Kirkwood, Felix Rosenqvist, David Malukas, Kyffin Simpson, Marcus Armstrong, Scott Dixon, Alexander Rossi, and Christian Lundgaard.
The results immediately fueled discussion about how familiar the IMS road course pecking order has started to feel. With Palou once again at the top and both Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Andretti Global showing strong early pace, the opening session carried the feeling of a return to a proven Indianapolis formula.
There was particular attention on Andretti Global after Kyle Kirkwood finished third in the session. Andretti has often struggled to consistently maximize performance at the IMS road course in recent years, making Kirkwood’s early speed one of the more encouraging storylines from Friday.
At the same time, much of the conversation centered around whether anyone will realistically be able to challenge Palou across the weekend. The Ganassi driver has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to control weekends through tire management, race pace, and strategic flexibility, and Friday’s opening session only added to the perception that he may once again enter the race as the clear favorite.
Even discussions about possible rain during qualifying quickly shifted back toward Palou’s ability to recover from adversity. The expectation surrounding the Spaniard has increasingly become less about whether he will contend and more about how difficult he will be to stop if conditions become chaotic.
Friday’s session also delivered several lighter moments around the paddock as the energy of May fully returned to IMS.
Broadcast coverage featured a variety of behind-the-scenes moments throughout pit lane and the garages, including a humorous segment involving Jack Harvey’s RV setup that became one of the more talked-about moments from the session coverage.
There was also noticeable attention around the visual presentation of teams and crews as pit lane adopted a more relaxed Month of May atmosphere. Between tracksuits, garage activity, and casual interactions throughout the paddock, the opening practice session carried a noticeably different energy from a standard IndyCar weekend.
Meanwhile, one unusual technical visual during the session — an IndyCar running with a rear wing cover installed — sparked widespread discussion online, with many joking about how uncommon the sight looked during an active session.
David Malukas’ strong top-five result also generated attention as AJ Foyt Racing continued to show flashes of competitiveness early in the weekend. Alongside Rahal’s second-place finish, the session offered several encouraging signs for teams hoping to disrupt the usual Ganassi dominance at IMS.
Still, the biggest takeaway from Friday remained the same one that has followed much of the 2026 season so far: Alex Palou arrived at Indianapolis looking completely comfortable immediately.
And with the Month of May now officially underway, the rest of the paddock already appears to be playing catch-up.