Alex Palou – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by Chris Jones

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Alex Palou launched his bid for a third consecutive NTT IndyCar Series championship, and fourth overall, with a cool/calm/calculated victory in Sunday’s 2025 season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Alex Palou – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by Joe Skibinski

In what amounted to a master class in race craft, Palou wheeled his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to a 2.8669-second victory over teammate and six-time series champion Scott Dixon on the temporary 1.8-mile/14-turn Florida street circuit running through downtown, and including a runway of Albert Whitted Airport.

“What an amazing job by everybody,” said Palou, the 27-year-old Spaniard who has hoisted the Astor Challenge Cup in 2021, 2023 and 2024. “They gave me everything we needed this weekend to win. I said (Saturday) we had a really, really fast car. Our strategy changed a lot during that first yellow (on Lap 1), but I’m so glad we got that No. 10 in Victory Lane. It’s been 138 days since Nashville (2024 season-finale), and I’ve been dreaming about this every single night.”

Scott Dixon and Alex Palou – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by Joe Skibinski

The caution period Palou referred to eliminated two-time series champion Will Power of Team Penske, Nolan Siegel of Arrow McLaren and rookie Louis Foster of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Palou, who started eighth in the 27-car field, earned his 12th career INDYCAR victory. And team-owner Chip Ganassi celebrated his organization’s first 1-2 finish since July 2023 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden completed the podium in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet after Dixon passed him for second during the final lap. Native New Zealander Dixon said post-race he drove the final 90 laps of the 100-lap/180-mile event without radio communication in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Scott McLaughlin – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by Travis Hinkle | IMS Photo

NTT P1 Award-winner Scott McLaughlin finished fourth in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet, as Roger Penske’s organization joined Ganassi Racing with a pair of drivers in the top-four. McLaughlin, another native of New Zealand, led a race-high 40 laps.

Florida native/resident Kyle Kirkwood place fifth in the No. 27 Chili’s Honda fielded by Andretti Global.

Palou took the lead for good on Lap 75 when Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist made his final pit stop in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing. This sequence was the culmination of split tire strategies, as drivers who started on Firestone’s grippier, less durable Firehawk alternate tires _ a list including Palou, Dixon and Newgarden _ dove into the pits on Lap 3 during the only caution period to shed the alternates for Firestone’s primary (harder compound) rubber.

Alex Palou – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by Joe Skibinski

While that stop ultimately proved decisive, Palou did not inherit the lead at the race’s three-quarter mark. Palou produced pit-perfect in-and-out laps during his final stop at the end of Lap 72 _ undercutting teammate Dixon, who couldn’t discuss strategy with his team and reacted to Palou’s pit move by stopping one lap later after being slowed by traffic.

Following his final stop, Dixon exited the pits behind a revved-up Palou. “We were just kind of flying blind out there,” said Dixon, alluding to his communication issue. “Ultimately, I think they were trying to call me in because on that last lap we had before we pitted, there was just so much traffic, and we lost two or three seconds. That’s where the No. 10 car got us.”

Alex Palou – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by Chris Jones

Palou acknowledged that Dixon had gotten trapped in traffic. “That’s why the No. 10 stand decided to pit a little bit early,” Palou said. “We had a really clean out-lap, could run fast and just opened a gap from there.”

Palou was 4.502-seconds ahead of Newgarden on Lap 75, but that gap didn’t last. Newgarden sliced the margin to 2.4-seconds by Lap 88 as Palou coped with turbulent air from the car ahead of him, the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet of Sting Ray Robb, who was racing to stay on the lead lap.

Josef Newgarden – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by Joe Skibinski

Newgarden took advantage and continued to stalk Palou, pulling to within 0.8186-seconds after Lap 95. Dixon also was gaining ground in third. However, a potential logjam of three series champions fighting for the checkered flag dissipated when Palou finally lapped Robb _ who pulled out of the preferred line in Turn 1 on Lap 96. Newgarden and Dixon also squirted past Robb on the same lap, but traffic-free clean air allowed Palou to stretch his advantage.

Palou expanded his gap to 1.1959-seconds after Lap 97 and 1.6938-seconds at the white flag at the end of Lap 99. Alex’s lead grew even more during his final trip around the circuit as Dixon and Newgarden squabbled for second. Dixon got past fellow-Indianapolis 500 winner and series champion Newgarden in Turn 10 on the final lap.

Josef Newgarden – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by James Black

“It was a good race by the No. 2 team,” a subdued Newgarden said post-race. “A couple of hiccups but this team fought really hard. It starts with a really great car, and we have had a great car all weekend. I think we could have qualified higher than 10th. I felt like our car today was certainly capable of winning, but we just didn’t quite get there for a couple of reasons. The pit cycle was where we obviously needed to go longer and then we had a shift there at the end that we kind of didn’t realize and we had to give up second place.

“We’re on the podium, got some points and we would like to keep these points on the board and then have a good, solid year. You know, everything is very positive right now, so thank you to Team Chevy and sorry we couldn’t get the win.”

Pato O’Ward – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by Joe Skibinski

Pato O’Ward, the event’s defending champion, parlayed his own mix of strategy and speed to climb from the 23rd starting spot to finish 11th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. O’Ward orchestrated the biggest climb from start-to-finish by any of the field’s 27 drivers.

“Things were tough starting out with a puncture on a pretty messy start in front of us,” said O’Ward, a native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio. “From what we had today, I would say we maximized things after starting further back than where we would have liked. We got some solid points and it’s important to make sure our bad days aren’t too bad. Great job by the team with the pit stops and the strategy.”

Christian Lundgaard – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by Joe Skibinski

Denmark’s Christian Lundgaard led the Arrow McLaren effort by placing eighth in the No. 7 entry in the race-day debut of Tony Kanaan as Team Principal.

“It was a positive weekend and we executed the best we could,” said Kanaan, a former series and Indy 500 champion from Brazil. “We’ve talked a lot about consistency this year, and I think we did execute there. You can’t control how certain things will play-out in the race, and strategy can often be a hit-or-miss. But I’m happy with the result and the way the team was working together.

“We’re never happy with anything but first place, but we can take positives from here and regroup. All our partners were here and we had a huge car launch, so the vibe was awesome and the whole team is behind one another. I couldn’t ask for anything better apart from a win, but it will come.”

David Malukas – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by James Black

Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing’s David Malukas and Santino Ferrucci finished a lead-lap 13^th and 14^th, respectively.

“Overall, a lot of positives to take out of that race. Very good race for us,” said Malukas, who made his debut in the No. 4 Foyt Racing Chevrolet. “We had a little issue with the pit stop on the end there that took us out of the top-10. Overall, our race was incredible. We just kept going forward.

“The green (alternate) tires was a big question mark for all the drivers on it having a lot of pace. I think, for us we managed to do a full stint and even did an extra few laps. The car is really good. The team is doing a good job. So, to start off the first race like that, to capitalize on my mistakes from (qualifying), we finished off with a P13. It’s a very good, decent result to start the season off and better results for the rest.”

Ferrucci, who finished a career-best ninth in 2024 for the team owned by INDYCAR icon A.J. Foyt Jr., admitted he was looking for a better result. “I think we were just struggling with the balance all weekend, and getting a bunch of things sorted,” said Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet. “Qualifying kind of hurt us with the electrical problem, but that’s also nobody’s fault. That was just freak. Just keep on learning from this event, and a lot of notes to be taken and move forward to Thermal.”

Next up on the 17-race schedule is The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix on Sunday, March 23, at Thermal, Calif. (3 p.m. EDT, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Native Norwegian Dennis Hauger punctuated his INDY NXT by Firestone debut by breaking out the proverbial broom.

Hauger delivered a dominant victory Sunday in his first start in INDYCAR’s developmental series, taking the checkered flag in the No. 28 Rental Group car fielded by Andretti Global under caution. Hauger started from pole position, led all 44 laps and turned the fastest lap of the event. Hauger is the first driver since Sweden’s Linus Lundqvist in 2021 to win in his INDY NXT by Firestone debut.

Dennis Hauger – INDY NXT By Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by Travis Hinkle | IMS Photo

A 21-year-old native of Oslo, Norway, Hauger transitioned to INDY NXT this season after winning the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2021 and earning five wins and 13 podium finishes in FIA Formula 2 _ final official ladder step before Formula One _ over the last three seasons.

“That was fun,” Hauger said after conquering the 1.8-mile/14-turn temporary street circuit. “First proper race on this course for me, as well. We had a good rhythm. The car was really good, and the team did an amazing job all weekend long to be up there with us. Super-happy. Good start to the season and definitely a confidence boost for us.”

Fellow-rookie Lochie Hughes, the 2024 USF Pro 2000 champion from Australia, gave Andretti Global a 1-2 finish in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship machine. Native Brazilian Caio Collet, the series’ top returning driver, completed the podium in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car.

Dennis Hauger – INDY NXT By Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by Chris Owens

Myles Rowe, a 24-year-old native of Georgia, tied his career-best result in INDY NXT by placing fourth in the No. 99 Abel Motorsports/Force Indy car. Salvador de Alba of Mexico completed the top-five in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car also fielded by Andretti Global.

Jordan Missig continued his breakthrough weekend by finishing a career-best sixth in the No. 48 Abel Motorsports car. Missig, who also qualified a career-best ninth, recorded a best finish of ninth in five INDY NXT starts last season for the Abel team.

Hauger’s winning pace of 83.915 mph was slowed by four caution flags that forced the race, originally scheduled for 45 laps, to instead become a 55-minute event. Hauger held off teammate Hughes on all three restarts _ on Laps 2, 14 and 25 _ to complete the victory.

With 10 minutes remaining, Hauger led Hughes by 1.3-seconds. That gap expanded to 2.4-seconds and was growing when Jack William Miller hit the barrier in Turn 9 while running fifth in the No. 40 Abel/Miller/Vinatieri Motorsports car with two minutes, 15 seconds remaining. That triggered the fourth and final caution period and ended the race.

Rookie teammates Sophia Floersch of Germany and former NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Hailie Deegan finished a lead-lap 12th and 14th, respectively, in their series debuts with HMD Motorsports. Eight rookies qualified for the event on the downtown Florida circuit.

The next INDY NXT by Firestone race is the Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday, May 4, at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. (11:30 a.m. EDT, FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Results of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding NTT IndyCar Series event on the 1.8-mile/14-turn Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., circuit, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (8) Alex Palou, Honda, 100, Running
   2. (6) Scott Dixon, Honda, 100, Running
   3. (10) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 100, Running
   4. (1) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 100, Running
   5. (9) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 100, Running
   6. (7) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 100, Running
   7. (3) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 100, Running
   8. (5) Christian Lundgaard, Chevrolet, 100, Running
   9. (12) Rinus VeeKay, Honda, 100, Running
   10. (20) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 100, Running
   11. (23) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 100, Running
   12. (21) Graham Rahal, Honda, 100, Running
   13. (17) David Malukas, Chevrolet, 100, Running
   14. (19) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 100, Running
   15. (24) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 100, Running
   16. (2) Colton Herta, Honda, 100, Running
   17. (22) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 100, Running
   18. (15) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 100, Running
   19. (27) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 100, Running
   20. (18) Robert Shwartzman, Chevrolet, 100, Running
   21. (26) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 99, Running
   22. (14) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 99, Running
   23. (25) Jacob Abel, Honda, 99, Running
   24. (4) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 46, Contact
   25. (11) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 0, Contact
   26. (13) Will Power, Chevrolet, 0, Contact
   27. (16) Louis Foster, Honda, 0, Contact

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 97.173 mph
Time of Race: 1:51:08.5118
Margin of victory: 2.8669-seconds
Cautions: 1 for 6 laps
Lead changes: 9 among 7 drivers

Lap Leaders
McLaughlin, Scott 1 – 31
Armstrong, Marcus 32 – 34
Herta, Colton 35
Newgarden, Josef 36 – 37
Dixon, Scott 38
McLaughlin, Scott 39 – 45
Lundgaard, Christian 46 – 68
Dixon, Scott 69 – 72
McLaughlin, Scott 73 – 74
Palou, Alex 75 – 100

Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 51; 2, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 41; 3, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, (tie) Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 36; 5, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 30; 6, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 28; 7, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 26; 8, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 25; 9, Rinus VeeKay, Dale Coyne Racing, 22; 10, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 20; 11, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 19; 12, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 18; 13, David Malukas, A.J. Foyt Racing, 17; 14, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 16; 15, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, (tie) Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 15; 17, Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 13; 18, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 12; 19, Callum Ilott, Prema Racing, 11; 20, Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing, 10; 21, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 9; 22, Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 8;  23, Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing, (tie) Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 7;  25, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, (tie) Will Power, Team Penske, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 5.

FOX SPORTS’ 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST COVERAGE SCHEDULE

Sunday, March 2 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, March 23 _The Thermal Club, Thermal, Calif.  (FOX, 3 p.m.)

Sunday, April 13 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif. (FOX, 4:30 p.m.)

Sunday, May 4 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala. (FOX, 1:30 p.m.)

Saturday, May 10 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course (FOX, 4:30 p.m.)

Sunday, May 25 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval (FOX, 10 a.m.)

Sunday, June 1 _ Streets of Detroit (FOX, 12:30 p.m.)

Sunday, June 15 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill. (FOX, 3 p.m.)

Sunday, June 22 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis. (FOX, 3:30 p.m.)

Sunday, July 6 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington (FOX, 2 p.m.)

Saturday, July 12 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 1 (FOX, 5 p.m.)

Sunday, July 13 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 2 (FOX, 2 p.m.)

Sunday, July 20 _ Streets of Toronto, Canada (FOX, 2 p.m.)

Sunday, July 27 _ WeatherTech Raceway, Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. (FOX, 3 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 10 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (FOX, 3 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 24 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis. (FOX, 2 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 31 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn. (2:30 p.m.)

NOTE _ All times Eastern. Dates and times subject to change.