After completing 68 laps, Malukas led teammate Josef Newgarden by just 0.0708s.
In third sat Will Power, who was replaced by Malukas following the 2025 season. The Australian wound up 0.1092s off the pace with 89 laps to his name.
Power’s Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood was fourth while four-time champion Alex Palou completed the top five for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Malukas said he was happy to end up on top during a day that was spent getting up to speed with his team team
“I think it’s hard for test days, because you know, you’re running through your own plans – but I mean, of course, it feels good,” said Malukas.
“We know that we have pace. The car is good, and we’ve kicked off our oval set with the team on a strong suit.
“So I feel confident, but is it what we were aiming for today? No, we just ran through our test plan, and we managed to get a time up on the board.
“Does it feel good? Yeah, I would say it feels good.
“I’m feeling great. This is the best I’ve felt in a very long time. The chemistry I have with the guys, the team, I’m just so happy,” he added.
“I get to race this beautiful car. It’s fantastic. It’s a dream for me. So every time I come in and out of the pits, I’m smiling. I got a big smile on my face, and I think on top of that, it adds to the performance.
“You see that with all the other guys. You know, everybody is on it. They have their own missions to make sure that, as a team, we can get good results. Just being in that environment, it’s perfect.”
New Zealand’s interests were led by Marcus Armstrong, who was sixth for Meyer Shank Racing.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin was not far behind in eighth while six-time champion Scott Dixon ended up ninth for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Of the rookies, Dennis Hauger was quickest for Dale Coyne Racing in 17th. Mick Schumacher was 23rd and one second off the pace of Malukas.
Caio Collet was only 25th after he crashed his AJ Foyt Racing-prepared car.
Testing will continue on Thursday at the one-mile-long Phoenix oval.
Results: IndyCar Series Unser Open Test, Phoenix Raceway
| Pos | Num | Driver | Team | Engine | Laps | Speed (mph) | Lap | Diff | Gap |
| 1 | 12 | David Malukas | Team Penske | Chevy | 68 | 172.605 | 20.8569 | 20.8569 | |
| 2 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevy | 82 | 172.021 | 20.9277 | 0.0708 | 0.0708 |
| 3 | 26 | Will Power | Andretti Global | Honda | 89 | 171.706 | 20.9661 | 0.1092 | 0.0384 |
| 4 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Global | Honda | 68 | 171.423 | 21.0007 | 0.1438 | 0.0346 |
| 5 | 10 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 55 | 171.357 | 21.0088 | 0.1519 | 0.0081 |
| 6 | 66 | Marcus Armstrong | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 56 | 170.919 | 21.0626 | 0.2057 | 0.0538 |
| 7 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 98 | 170.489 | 21.1157 | 0.2588 | 0.0531 |
| 8 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Team Penske | Chevy | 77 | 170.433 | 21.1227 | 0.2658 | 0.007 |
| 9 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 67 | 170.181 | 21.1539 | 0.297 | 0.0312 |
| 10 | 20 | Alexander Rossi | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevy | 118 | 169.911 | 21.1876 | 0.3307 | 0.0337 |
| 11 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 78 | 169.88 | 21.1914 | 0.3345 | 0.0038 |
| 12 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | Andretti Global | Honda | 83 | 169.845 | 21.1958 | 0.3389 | 0.0044 |
| 13 | 76 | Rinus VeeKay | Juncos Racing | Chevy | 108 | 169.742 | 21.2086 | 0.3517 | 0.0128 |
| 14 | 21 | Christian Rasmussen | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevy | 128 | 169.507 | 21.238 | 0.3811 | 0.0294 |
| 15 | 45 | Louis Foster | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 93 | 169.452 | 21.2449 | 0.388 | 0.0069 |
| 16 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | Arrow McLaren | Chevy | 98 | 169.405 | 21.2509 | 0.394 | 0.006 |
| 17 | 19 | Dennis Hauger | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | 55 | 169.259 | 21.2692 | 0.4123 | 0.0183 |
| 18 | 6 | Nolan Siegel | Arrow McLaren | Chevy | 104 | 168.955 | 21.3074 | 0.4505 | 0.0565 |
| 19 | 77 | Sting Ray Robb | Juncos Racing | Chevy | 106 | 168.579 | 21.355 | 0.4981 | 0.0476 |
| 20 | 7 | Christian Lundgaard | Arrow McLaren | Chevy | 78 | 167.983 | 21.4307 | 0.5738 | 0.0219 |
| 21 | 8 | Kyffin Simpson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 97 | 167.454 | 21.4985 | 0.6416 | 0.0678 |
| 22 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | AJ Foyt Racing | Chevy | 43 | 165.217 | 21.7895 | 0.8568 | 0.0023 |
| 23 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 109 | 164.006 | 21.9504 | 1.0935 | 0.0538 |
| 24 | 18 | Romain Grosjean | AJ Foyt Racing | Honda | 40 | 163.228 | 22.055 | 1.1981 | 0.1046 |
| 25 | 4 | Caio Collet | AJ Foyt Racing | Chevy | 51 | 162.474 | 22.1574 | 1.2297 | 0.0191 |
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