IndyCar St Petersburg: Andretti leads first practice session of 2017
Andretti Autosport racer Marco Andretti put in the fastest time during a disrupted first practice session for the IndyCar season-opener in St Petersburg
The American recorded a best effort of 1m03.755s mid-way through the 45-minute session, edging Chip Ganassi Racing's Tony Kanaan to the fastest time by just 0.089 seconds.
Andretti's lap was set shortly after the session was restarted, after Penske driver Will Power - polesitter for last year's race - had hit the wall at Turn 10.
Two-time St Petersburg winner Power lost the rear of his car at the tight left-hander after just three laps and crashed into the barrier.
The 2014 champion was able to recover his damaged car to the pits and returned to the track after a swift repair by his Penske team, Power ending the session in 11th.
Kanaan's Ganassi team-mate Scott Dixon was third, ahead of Schmidt Peterson's James Hinchcliffe and 2016 title winner Simon Pagenaud.
Graham Rahal made a late improvement to move up to sixth place ahead of Helio Castroneves, who was six tenths off the fastest time in opening practice.
Charlie Kimball, Ryan Hunter-Reay and former F1 driver Max Chilton rounded out the top 10.
Last year's Indianaplis 500 winner Alexander Rossi ended the session in 12th place, with new Dale Coyne recruit Sebastien Bourdais next on the leaderboard.
Lap times at the newly resurfaced street track were down on those set last year, in part due to Turn 3 being reconfigured and made slower following incidents in support categories on Thursday.
PRACTICE ONE TIMES:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 1m03.7559s | - | 16 |
| 2 | Tony Kanaan | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m03.8450s | 0.0891s | 20 |
| 3 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m03.8798s | 0.1239s | 16 |
| 4 | James Hinchcliffe | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Dallara/Honda | 1m04.1506s | 0.3947s | 13 |
| 5 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m04.2131s | 0.4572s | 15 |
| 6 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Dallara/Honda | 1m04.3190s | 0.5631s | 20 |
| 7 | Helio Castroneves | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m04.3488s | 0.5929s | 16 |
| 8 | Charlie Kimball | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m04.4071s | 0.6512s | 20 |
| 9 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 1m04.4118s | 0.6559s | 16 |
| 10 | Max Chilton | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m04.5379s | 0.7820s | 21 |
| 11 | Will Power | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m04.5513s | 0.7954s | 18 |
| 12 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Herta | Dallara/Honda | 1m04.6270s | 0.8711s | 17 |
| 13 | Sebastien Bourdais | Dale Coyne Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m04.6900s | 0.9341s | 16 |
| 14 | Spencer Pigot | Ed Carpenter Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m04.8290s | 1.0731s | 16 |
| 15 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m04.8500s | 1.0941s | 13 |
| 16 | Takuma Sato | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 1m04.8536s | 1.0977s | 15 |
| 17 | Mikhail Aleshin | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Dallara/Honda | 1m04.9605s | 1.2046s | 17 |
| 18 | Ed Jones | Dale Coyne Racing | Dallara/Honda | 1m05.2213s | 1.4654s | 20 |
| 19 | Carlos Munoz | AJ Foyt Enterprises | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m05.4289s | 1.6730s | 14 |
| 20 | J.R. Hildebrand | Ed Carpenter Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m05.5797s | 1.8238s | 15 |
| 21 | Conor Daly | AJ Foyt Enterprises | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1m05.5928s | 1.8369s | 8 |
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