After a six-month winter break, the new IndyCar Series season finally gets underway this weekend! On the tricky streets of St. Petersburg, everyone starts again with zero points on the board, so the focus will be on kicking off 2026 in the best possible way. Will Alex Palou be just as dominant this year, or will he face stiff competition from Penske, Andretti, or McLaren? Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the race weekend.

The History of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

First IndyCar race: 2003
Number of races held: 22
Number of different winners: 16
Last year’s winner: Alex Palou
Lap record: Will Power in 2022, 0:59.3466
Most successful driver: Hélio Castroneves, 3 wins (2006, 2007, and 2012)

The 2026 Race

Race length: 100 laps / 180 miles (289.7 km)
Push-to-Pass: 150 seconds total, up to 15 seconds per use
Tires: 5 sets of standard Firestone tires and 5 alternate sets per car (rookies get 1 extra set of standard tires in the first practice session)
Green flag: Sunday, March 1, 12:29 PM ET
Expected race duration: 2 hours
Number of participants: 25

Entry List for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

#2 Josef Newgarden – Astemo Team Penske (Chevrolet)
#3 Scott McLaughlin – DEX Imaging Team Penske (Chevrolet)
#4 Caio Collet – Combitrans Amazona AJ Foyt Racing (Chevrolet)
#5 Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren (Chevrolet)
#6 Nolan Siegel – Arrow McLaren (Chevrolet)
#7 Christian Lundgaard – Arrow McLaren (Chevrolet)
#8 Kyffin Simpson – Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
#9 Scott Dixon – PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
#10 Alex Palou – DHL Chip Ganassi Racing (Honda)
#12 David Malukas – Verizon Team Penske (Chevrolet)
#14 Santino Ferrucci – Homes For Our Troops AJ Foyt Racing (Chevrolet)
#15 Graham Rahal – Fifth Third Bank Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
#18 Romain Grosjean – BMax Dale Coyne Racing (Honda)
#19 Dennis Hauger – Ault Block Chain Dale Coyne Racing (Honda)
#20 Alexander Rossi – ECR Java House (Chevrolet)
#21 Christian Rasmussen – ESC Splenda Stevia (Chevrolet)
#26 Will Power – TWG AI Andretti Global (Honda)
#27 Kyle Kirkwood – JM Bullion / Gold.com Andretti Global (Honda)
#28 Marcus Ericsson – Delaware Life Andretti Global (Honda)
#45 Louis Foster – Droplight Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
#47 Mick Schumacher – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Honda)
#60 Felix Rosenqvist – SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing (Honda)
#66 Marcus Armstrong – ROOT Insurance Meyer Shank Racing (Honda)
#76 Rinus VeeKay – Juncos Hollinger Racing (Chevrolet)
#77 Sting Ray Robb – Goodheart Juncos Hollinger Racing (Chevrolet)

Schedule for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Friday, February 27
Practice 1: 1:35 PM – 3:00 PM ET

Saturday, February 28
Practice 2: 9:35 AM – 11:00 AM ET
Qualifying: 4:35 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Sunday, March 1
Warm-up: 9:05 AM – 9:35 AM ET
Race – ‘Drivers, Start Your Engines’: 12:22 PM ET
Race – Green Flag: 12:29 PM ET

The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on TV

USA: The Friday practice session and qualifying will be shown live on Fox Sports 2, while the Saturday practice and warm-up will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1. The race broadcast begins at noon (ET) on FOX.
Canada: All practice sessions and the race will be available on TSN+, with the race broadcast starting at noon (ET).
UK: All sessions and the race will be shown on Sky Sports F1. The race broadcast begins at 5:00 PM (GMT).
Australia: All sessions, except the warm-up, and the race will be shown on Stan Sport. The race broadcast begins on Monday morning at 4:00 AM (AEST).
New Zealand: The first practice, qualifying, and the race will be broadcast on Sky Sport 2, the Saturday practice on Sky Sport 5, and the warm-up on Sky Sport 3. The race broadcast begins on Monday morning at 6:00 AM (NZST).

Weather Forecast

The new IndyCar Series season is expected to start under variable weather conditions. There is a chance of rain and thunderstorms on Friday and Saturday – on Friday, not until late, after the IndyCar practice session, though the qualifying session could still be wet. For Race Day, mostly sunny and pleasant weather is forecast. With temperatures ranging from 73 °F to 77 °F (23 °C to 25 °C), it will be very comfortable on and around the track.

Friday, February 27: 77 °F (25 °C), mostly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms late in the afternoon
Saturday, February 28: 73 °F (23 °C), cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms
Sunday, March 1: 77 °F (25 °C), mostly sunny

Source: AccuWeather.com

Historical Results

Number of Pole Positions
1. Will Power – 8
2. Scott McLaughlin – 2
= Graham Rahal – 1
= Josef Newgarden – 1

Number of Wins
1. Will Power – 2
= Josef Newgarden – 2
3. Graham Rahal – 1
= Scott McLaughlin – 1
= Marcus Ericsson – 1
= Pato O’Ward – 1
= Alex Palou – 1

Number of Podium Finishes
1. Scott Dixon – 8
2. Will Power – 7
3. Josef Newgarden – 4
4. Pato O’Ward – 3
5. Graham Rahal – 2
= Alex Palou – 2
7. Alexander Rossi – 1
= Scott McLaughlin – 1
= Marcus Ericsson – 1

Average Finish Position
1. Scott Dixon – 7,33 (21 races)
2. Alex Palou – 7,50 (6 races)
3. Pato O'Ward – 7,83 (6 races)
4. Will Power – 8,53 (17 races)
5. Marcus Ericsson – 10,43 (7 races)
6. Graham Rahal – 10,78 (18 races)
7. Josef Newgarden – 11,29 (14 races)
8. Alexander Rossi – 11,30 (10 races)
9. Rinus VeeKay – 11,33 (6 races)
10. Christian Lundgaard – 11,50 (4 races)
11. Felix Rosenqvist – 11,71 (7 races)
12. Kyle Kirkwood – 12,00 (4 races)
13. Romain Grosjean – 14,50 (4 races)
14. Kyffin Simpson – 15,00 (2 races)
15. Scott McLaughlin – 15,00 (7 races)
16. Santino Ferrucci – 15,80 (5 races)
17. David Malukas – 16,333 (3 races)
18. Christian Rasmussen – 17,00 (2 races)
19. Marcus Armstrong – 20,00 (3 races)
20. Sting Ray Robb – 20,33 (3 races)
21. Nolan Siegel – 25,00 (1 race)
22. Louis Foster – 27,00 (1 race)