Kyle Kirkwood was fastest in opening practice for the Honda Indy Toronto as Andretti United filled three of the top four spots.

Taking his first IndyCar career victory on the streets of Longbeach earlier this year, Kirkwood’s 1:00.8075 lap around the 2.87km street circuit bested second fastest runner, team-mate Romain Grosjean.

“It went phenomenal for us,” Kirkwood said following the 75-minute Practice 1.

“We kind of led the whole session. Andretti Autosport does a fantastic job at setting up these street-course cars, specifically. Fingers crossed. You expect to see some more of that. It’s a good start for us, but we’ve got to keep the thing going.”

Felix Rosenqvist in the #6 Arrow McLaren prevented an all-Andretti United top three by finishing third fastest ahead of Colton Herta, with Rosenqvist the highest place Chevrolet-powered entry.

Scott McLaughlin was fifth fastest after posting a 1:00.9700 in the #3 Gallagher Insurance Team Penske Chevrolet, while Tom Blomqvist, making his IndyCar debut in place of sidelined Simon Pagenaud, was 25th in his first session.

Series leader Alex Palou was 12th with a 1:01.3233 in the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, chasing his fourth consecutive race win.

Palou has claimed victory in every race after the Indy 500 – where started from pole but finished fourth after a collision with the #21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet of Rinus VeeKay.

If the Spaniard can achieve the feat, he will be the only the sixth driver since 1970 to do so, joining Al Unser (1970), Al Unser Junior (1990), Alex Zanardi (1998), Cristiano Da Matta (2002) and Sebastien Bourdais (2006).

After eight of 17 IndyCar Series rounds, Palou currently leads the standings on 377 points ahead of Scott Dixon (267), Josef Newgarden (261). 2022 Series winner Will Power sits seventh on 226 points, one place behind McLaughlin on 229.

The 60-minute Practice 2 is scheduled for 10:35 local time Saturday July 15/12:35 AEST Sunday July 16 AEST.

Results: Honda Indy Toronto Practice 1, Friday July 14, 15:00 – 16:15 local time