The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season has officially begun, with the first practice session of the year being completed on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Practice one was uneventful in regards to on-track accidents and contact between cars, but it was exciting nonetheless, given the excitement of the upcoming season due to aero kits - among many other headlines.

Helio Castroneves spent some time leading the time sheet, before teammates Juan Pablo Montoya and reigning series champion Will Power bested his lap. Power (1:01.4709) and Montoya (1:01.6996) finished the session in the quickest two spots, with Helio (1:01.7000) third quickest. These top three, all of Team Penske, were followed by Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon (1:01.777) and KV Racing's Sebastien Bourdais (1:01.8349).

Note that these five quickest drivers in practice one all drive Chevy-powered cars - and therefore have the Chevy-designed aero packages fitted to their cars. Speculation has risen in regards to which of the two aero packages will perform better on the race track, and so far, in recent tests and today's practice session, it has been Chevrolet occupying the top five or so spots. Honda, ironically, makes up the final spots on the time sheet - although after the top five, engine manufacturers - and therefore aero package manufacturers - are scattered.

No contact was made during the session that warranted a caution; this is surprising given the new aerodynamics of the cars. The drivers must figure out how their car affects the cars around them, keeping themselves out of trouble on the track. There were various runoffs, though, mostly in the same corner. Two drivers who found themselves in the runoff area were Francesco Dracone of Dale Coyne Racing and Sage Karam of Chip Ganassi Racing; Karam was actually stuck in the corner as the session ended.

With Practice 2 being cancelled, the drivers of IndyCar will be back on-track tomorrow for another practice session and the first qualifying session of 2015.

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About the author
Aaron Durant
Eighteen-year-old aspiring motorsports journalist. I lead The Apex as its editor-in-chief. Read my work at TheApex.racing.