The final off-season test of the 2019 IndyCar series kicked-off at COTA (Circuit Of The Americas) on February 12th, and lasted for 2 days. All 25 cars and drivers lapped the 5.5 kilometers circuit to assess their compatibility and pace of their cars.
IndyCar is visiting COTA for the first time ever since the permanent facility was constructed. The 5.5 kilometers circuit is situated on the outskirts of Austin, Texas. The racing facility will also host the 2nd round of the 2019 IndyCar season, the IndyCar Classic on March 24th.
Day 1: Session 1
The first session of day 1 was topped by the 2018 Indy Lights runner up, Colton Herta. Herta managed to clock in a best lap time of 1:48.744 sec around COTA.
It's a no surprise that many young drivers are topping the charts, given that much of the IndyCar field is unfamiliar to the newly included circuit and drivers are getting familiar with the track with each passing lap.
“This track just suits my driving style a lot.” declared the 18 year old Herta.
Herta was followed by Marcus Ericcson, who recorded a lap time of 1:48.839 sec. Taking into account the fact that Marcus has previously raced in Formula 1, the Swedish driver is not new to the Texan racing facility by any means, with 4 F1 starts at COTA to his name.
The 3rd fastest lap time was recorded by the 2017 IndyCar champion, Josef Newgarden. He squeezed his Penske into the third spot with a lap of 1:49.353 sec. Enerson, who drives for Carlin powered by Chevrolet, followed Josef sealing the 5th position with a lap time of 1:49.543 sec.
Herta further added: “We weren’t even sure we were going to make it to Austin for this test.
"The car is still all black. It was a tough winter for everyone, so to get the car ready and have no problems on any runs from a technical standpoint proves how good the team is and how hard everyone is working.”
The 7th spot in the time sheets was secured by the defending IndyCar champion, Scott Dixon, as he crossed the finish line with a best lap of 1:50.007 sec.
Out of 25 drivers that were expected drive around COTA in order to thoroughly test their cars, all the drivers set lap times bar one, Kyle Kaiser. The 2017 Indy Lights champion had to return to the pits with a clutch issue, which restricted him from going out again on the track for the rest of the session.
Day 1: Session 2
Colton Herta continued to dominate and stay atop the lap time sheets, with a best lap time of 1:46.625 sec. The 18 year old Herta, who drives for Steinbrenner Racing powered by Honda, said that: "I'm super happy with how the day went,"
"We did some great things to the car and I'm very happy with how the boys got everything together in time for this test."
While Herta topped the afternoon session, Penske's Will Power managed to get into the 2nd spot with a lap time of 1:47.104 sec. His teammate, Helio Castroneves finished the session 3rd as he clocked a lap time of 1:47.695 sec.
Both Chip Ganassi drivers, Felix Rosenqvist and Scott Dixon secure 4th and 5th spots respectively with Rosenqvist lapping COTA in 1:48.045 sec, just 0.002 sec faster than Dixon's best time.
Frenchman, Simon Pagenaud went 6th fastest in afternoon, making it 3 Penskes in the top 6. Andretti Autosports' Alexander Rossi finished 7th with a lap of 1:48.122 sec. His teammate, Zach Veach way down in 14th position. His best lap time was a 1:48.569 sec.
Day 2: Session 3
25 drivers in total, accumulated 453 laps during the Wednesday morning session. Japanese driver, Takuma Sato stood out among the rest, as his tally stood the highest, with 27 laps.
Although, it was yet again, Colton Herta who stayed atop the standings. Herta didn't improve on his previous lap time from Tuesday afternoon, as he recorded a lap time of 1:46.625 sec.
Both Alexander Rossi and Simon Pagenuad ended up 2nd and 3rd fastest respectively. The 2016 IndyCar champion managed to set a lap time of 1:47.013 sec.
Josef Newgarden's Penske did a lap time of 1:47.814 sec as it locked itself into the top 5, making it 2 Penskes in the group. Jack Harvey went 6 quickest followed by Ryan Hunter Reay.
As the drivers became more flexible and started testing their limits around COTA, some of them did face consequences. Canadian star, James Hinchcliffe was no exception, as he went off-road, causing a red flag stoppage.
James Hinchcliffe couldn't produce a lap better than 1:49.163 sec as he finished the session 2nd last. Unfortunately, Hinchliffe's car suffered a fuel leak and that restricted his lap count.
Dale Coyne Racing's Sebastien Bourdais clocked a lap time of 1:48.017 and squeezed himself into the 9th spot.
Day 2: Session 4
It took 20 minutes for any drivers to emerge out on the track and set any lap times. James Hinchcliffe and Marcus Ericsson thus became the firs two drivers to get out on the track and start setting lap times.
The afternoon session of the day 2 at COTA was topped by Alex Rossi, who finally managed to outpace Colton Herta, who had been dominating the earlier three sessions. The 2016 Indy 500 winner set the fastest lap time of the session with a 1:46.853 sec.
Marcus Ericsson had a light impact at turn-2 as he lost control of his car and spun on the track. With a 1:47.796, the Swedish driver could only manage to be the 13th fastest driver on Wednesday afternoon.
Colton Herta, who had earlier led the previous three sessions, managed the 2nd best lap time with a 1:47.000 sec. Ryan Hunter Reay improved from his previous spot of 7th to 3rd in the afternoon session. He was 0.176 sec slower than 2nd placed Herta.
Chip Ganassi's IndyCar debutant, Felix Rosenqvist was 4th quickest with a lap time of 1:47.294 sec. Graham Rahal slotted himself just below Felix in 5th spot with a 1:47.366 sec lap time.
Out of the top 5, reigning IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, recorded his fastest lap of 1:47.386 as Penske's Simon Pagenaud could only manage to go 7th fastest with a lap 0.101 sec slower than that of Dixon's.
In 8th position was James Hinchcliffe, who after a short testing mileage in the morning, due to a fuel leak, lapped the COTA in 1:47.538 sec. 2017 IndyCar title winner, Josef Newgarden sealed the top 10 with a 1:47.662, which was only 0.065 sec shy of 9th placed Santino Ferucci fastest lap time.
British driver Max Chilton could only produce a lap time of 1:48.365 sec, as he ended at the bottom of the time sheets in 21st position. He was followed by Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Spencer Pigot and Kyle Kaiser in 22nd to 25th lap time slots respectively.
While Rossi managed to dislodge Herta from the top in the final session on the 2nd day of testing, the 2018 Indy Lights runner-up displayed his incredible racing skills and sheer amount of pace that he carried throughout the testing.
The off-season testing at COTA provided all the drivers contesting in the 2019 IndyCar series, a vital ground to get acclimatized to the track before they officially race at the racing facility on March 22nd. It will be first time that IndyCar will be racing in Austin, since the famed circuit first held the Formula 1 US Grand Prix in 2012.
The official 2019 IndyCar season will get going on 10th of next month, as the cars will roar in the streets of St. Petersburg.
Following are the average lap times of all the 25 drivers from the two days of testing at COTA:
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