Lap times continued to drop during the third practice for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Eight drivers were below the 1:01 mark, demolishing Friday’s fastest lap of 1:02.559, turned in by Scott Dixon.
Dixon’s No. 9 GE LED Lighting Honda again paced the field in third practice, turning a fast lap of 1:01.624. Fellow Honda driver James Hinchcliffe was second with a lap of 1:01.666. He was also the first driver to actually break the 1:01 barrier. Alexander Rossi, Max Chilton, Sebastien Bourdais, and Marco Andretti made it a top six sweep for Honda, with Josef Newgarden’s No. 2 Verizon entry for Team Penske the fastest Chevrolet. In fact, Hondas held eight of the top ten spots, with Will Power’s No. 12 Verizon machine the only other Chevrolet in the top ten. He ended the session in tenth.
The session ran without any stoppages, the only incident being a minor off for Simon Pagenaud, who overshot the entry to turn 10 about 30 minutes into practice. However, he quickly spun it back around and re-entered the course without issue and ended the session 11th quickest.
Results are below. Qualifying begins at 2:55 p.m. ET local time.
