25 drivers took part in the first day of IndyCar testing in Phoenix

Twenty-five drivers accumulated 2,049 laps during the first day of the Unser IndyCar Open Test at Phoenix Raceway, the first preseason session on an oval before the start of the 2026 season. The test unfolded over four hours of open track on the one-mile oval, featuring nine caution flags and a single minor incident.

Drivers Adapting with New Teams

For several drivers, this was their first real working session with new teams under oval conditions. David Malukas turned his first laps with Team Penske and logged 68 laps in the No. 12 Chevrolet. "We just stuck to our test plan," said Malukas. "That's what really matters, and everything went very well. We got a lot of answers." Will Power did likewise with Andretti Global in the No. 26 Honda and accumulated 89 laps, the highest tally among drivers who changed teams for this season. Power spent 16 full seasons with Penske before moving to Andretti.

Photo By Penske Entertainment

Rookies and Their Adaptation Programs

Of the three rookie drivers on track, Mick Schumacher was the one who accumulated the most laps with 109, the third-highest tally of the full day. This was only his second session on an oval track — the first was on February 4th at Homestead-Miami Speedway — and his work rate has been consistent: at the Sebring test last week, he improved by 0.839 seconds between Monday and Tuesday on the permanent road course. Unlike lap times, the volume of work is a useful piece of data in a test because it indicates how much a driver was able to run without mechanical issues or incidents.

Dennis Hauger, the 2025 Indy NXT champion, completed 55 laps with Dale Coyne Racing. Caio Collet (AJ Foyt Racing) reached 51 laps before being involved in the session's only incident.

Collet's Incident

Collet made contact with the outside wall in turn 4 with his No. 4 Chevrolet. According to his race engineer, Mike Armbrester, Collet reported visibility issues due to the sun's position when entering that section of the oval, which likely caused his left-side tires to drop below the yellow line at the bottom of the banking. The car slid into the wall and ended up stopped on the inside of turn 1. Collet got out on his own and did not suffer any injuries. The team will assess the damage before the second session on Wednesday.

Photo By Penske Entertainment

Work Volume by Team

Christian Rasmussen (Ed Carpenter Racing) recorded the highest number of laps for the day with 128, followed by Alexander Rossi with 118 in the other ECR car. Both drivers have been with the team since last season, which allows them to focus on setup development rather than basic adaptation. At the other end, Romain Grosjean barely completed 40 laps with Dale Coyne Racing, and Santino Ferrucci turned 43 laps with AJ Foyt Racing, the two lowest figures of the session.

Meyer Shank Racing accumulated a combined 154 laps between Marcus Armstrong (56) and Felix Rosenqvist (98). The team was also competitive during the two-day test at Sebring, where Armstrong recorded the overall fastest time. The team's ability to generate useful data both on a permanent road course and on an oval is a positive sign looking ahead to a calendar that alternates between both types of tracks.

The test concludes on Wednesday with the final session before the start of the season. The cars will be on track from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET and from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET. The 2026 season kicks off on March 1st with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and Phoenix will be the second date on the calendar on March 7th — the first IndyCar event at this oval since 2018.