James Hinchcliffe was saying just the other day that what transpired in 2013 on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg temporary street circuit doesn’t mean anything.
Still, the third-year Andretti Autosport driver was enthused following the first Verizon IndyCar Series practice session for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Hinchcliffe was quickest of the 22 drivers at 1 minute, 2.9326 seconds.
“That first session of the season is always something that everyone is excited about,” said Hinchcliffe, the 2013 race winner. “It worked well for us, but it’s still early. Hopefully this means we’re heading in the right direction and be competitive.”
Honda, with its new twin-turbo V6 engine, held the top three spots on the time sheet (Justin Wilson in the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing car was second at 1:02.9385 and Takuma Sato in the No. 14 ABC Supply car for A.J. Foyt Racing was third at 1:03.0603).
Will Power, the pole sitter each of the past four years in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car, was fourth (1:03.1932) and St. Petersburg resident Sebastien Bourdais (1:03.1948) in the No. 11 Hydroxycut KVSH Racing car.
The top 18 cars were separated by less than a second.
