Christian Lundgaard exudes more happiness and confidence with first practice of Indy 500 over Open Test

On Tuesday, May 12, Christian Lundgaard, along with 33 other drivers, participated in the first practice session for the Indianapolis 500. The Arrow McLaren driver had positive takeaways from the day.

Initially, the rain disrupted practice runs for the Indy 500 hopefuls. However, the drivers managed to get three hours of track time around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The session was topped by Team Penske's Will Power with 227.026 mph, whereas the non-tow results had Kyle Kirkwood at the top with 219.497 mph.

Although Lundgaard was 23rd in the practice with 216.262 mph and 51 laps, he remains hopeful. He detailed what the team's intention was going into the first day of practice. He also added that the Tuesday practice yielded more results than the IMS Open Test held on April 23 and 24.

"It was a pretty good first day. I think we found some improvements since the Open Test, and really we're just moving on from there. We really wanted to focus on what the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet could do today. Looking ahead at Wednesday's practice, we really want to see what the other cars have to say and pick out the best bits and pieces to combine them and see where we're really at. But I feel that we've left Tuesday in a really good place compared to where we were at the Open Test, so I'm much happier and confident at this point," said Lundgaard [via McLaren.com]

Thirty-four drivers will be practicing from Tuesday to Friday (May 13-16) before participating in the qualifying on Saturday and Sunday (May 17-18).

Christian Lundgaard reflects on his shift to Arrow McLaren, which has resulted in a strong show

INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Source: Getty

Christian Lundgaard switched to Arrow McLaren from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for the 2025 season. He replaced Alexander Rossi and partnered with Pato O'Ward and Nolan Siegel. The Danish driver has so far bagged three podiums in five races of the NTT IndyCar Series Championship.

Before the Sonsio Grand Prix, Lundgaard had reflected on shifting base to Arrow McLaren and credited the team's fast machines for the results. In a conversation with Jack Harvey of FOX Sports, Christian Lundgaard discussed his move to the team.

“A fast car is a fast car, right? And if you go from a fast car to a faster car, naturally the results will come. As vocal in the off season that I didn't really care about what results we were going to get. It was more just, I wanted to be competitive at every single event. So far, we've done pretty well,” he said.

With 150 points, Christian Lundgaard is currently third in the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series Championship behind Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou (248 points) and Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood (151 points).