Alex Palou Wins the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg with Strategic Mastery

Alex Palou kicked off the new IndyCar Series season in the best possible way by winning the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg. The reigning champion took the lead thanks to a well-executed strategy, fast pit stops, and an extremely quick out-lap, and he never looked back. Teammate Scott Dixon finished in second place, ahead of Josef Newgarden. Rinus VeeKay put in a strong performance in his first race for Dale Coyne Racing, finishing in ninth place.

As the green flag waved, polesitter Scott McLaughlin maintained the lead ahead of Colton Herta and Felix Rosenqvist. The entire field made it through the first corner without issues, but trouble struck in Turn 3. Will Power hit the rear of Nolan Siegel’s car, causing Siegel to spin, and Power subsequently crashed into the wall. Rookie Louis Foster also spun behind them, damaging his car, but all three drivers were able to exit their vehicles safely.

Tire strategy played a crucial role in the race, as the softer, alternate compound suffered from significant degradation. For this reason, a large portion of the field started on the alternate tires, planning to switch to the harder compound during the caution period caused by the Turn 3 crash.

Race leader McLaughlin, however, had started on the harder tires and stayed out, while Herta, who had started second, immediately pitted and fell back in the field. Behind McLaughlin, Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong settled into second and third place.

Once the track was cleared, McLaughlin began building a small lead. After the first stint, the entire top three switched to the softer tires, with McLaughlin extending his advantage to eight seconds. These drivers were hoping for another caution period, but it never came, forcing them to make their second pit stops under green. As a result, McLaughlin dropped back to seventh place, handing the race lead to Christian Lundgaard, who had spent the first two stints on the harder compound.

For Herta, the leader among drivers on an alternate pit stop strategy, the race took a turn for the worse in the pits. During his second stop, he lost significant time due to a slow installation of the right rear wheel. Ten laps later, he was forced to pit again because his car had not been refueled adequately.

With Herta out of contention, Scott Dixon became the new leader among those on the alternate strategy. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver gradually closed the gap to race leader Christian Lundgaard and Alexander Rossi, both of whom still needed to complete a stint on the softer tires.

After Lundgaard and Rossi made their stops, Dixon took the lead, just ahead of Alex Palou. However, both drivers still needed to pit, with Palou stopping one lap earlier than Dixon. A blistering out-lap from Palou, combined with a slight delay in Dixon’s pit stop, allowed Palou to rejoin the track ahead of him. Shortly after, Dixon lost another position when Josef Newgarden overtook him in Turn 1.

Palou then built up a five-second lead over Newgarden, who in turn created a small gap to Dixon. However, Palou found himself stuck behind backmarker Sting Ray Robb, allowing Newgarden to erase the deficit completely. Newgarden got close several times but ultimately could not complete an overtake. In the final lap, just a few corners before the finish, Dixon managed to pass Newgarden for second place, dropping him to third.

Full results of the race on St. Petersburg