Reigning Champion Álex Palou Wins IndyCar Season Opener At St. Petersburg

Published: Tuesday, March 4, 2025

by Thomas Mazurowski

ST. PETERSBURG, FL. - Three-time IndyCar champion Álex Palou took the checkered flag for Chip Ganassi Racing in the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday.

Palou took the lead in the No. 10 Honda with 26 laps to go after the last cycle of pitstops. He retained the lead until the finish despite the hard-charging duo of Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden, who would go on to finish second and third respectively.

Lap one opened with chaos. A relatively tame start would go south by turn three, when Will Power ran into the back of Nolan Seigel, slamming the outside wall and collecting rookie Louis Foster. Several drivers would take the caution as an opportunity to pit.

Tire strategy was the deciding factor of the weekend. After the lap one incident, the race would stay green until the finish with few on-track passes, making pitstops all the more important. Polesitter Scott McLaughlin surged ahead to dominate the early running in the No. 3 Penske car, leading 40 laps before disappearing from the podium later.  

Colton Herta would lead a lap off the pit cycle in what was otherwise a disappointing Sunday. After starting in second and staying near the front through the first 30 laps, a problematic right rear led to a costly pitstop on lap 39. Further issues relegated his No. 26 Andretti Global Honda to 16th by the end of the day.

Meyer Shank Racing showed potential throughout the race. The No. 60 of Felix Rosenqvist and the No. 66 of Marcus Armstrong qualified third and fourth, running in the top five for much of the day. Armstrong would be forced to retire the car on lap 49, while Rosenqvist would go on to finish seventh.

Christian Lundgaard, one of the last drivers to switch to the mandatory alternate tires, led 23 laps before securing an eighth-place finish in his first race with Arrow McLaren. Alexander Rossi also finished in the top 10 with a similar strategy.

Scott Dixon took the lead on lap 69 after Lundgaard’s stop. A few laps later, Palou and Newgarden pitted, with Dixon’s No. 9 coming in the following lap. The undercut proved successful for Palou, who inherited the lead for the remainder of the race. Palou would win by nearly three seconds despite some trouble navigating lapped traffic, the best possible start to his fourth title bid.

Speaking of fresh starts, St. Petersburg marked the debut of Prema Racing’s new IndyCar program. Drivers Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman finished 19th and 20th respectively, a decent first showing for the Italian team.

Off the track, the weekend was filled with fanfare to celebrate the beginning of the season. An estimated 100,000 spectators were in attendance for the race, including one Alex Rodriguez. The former Yankee legend got a chance to ride along for a pace lap in the Honda IndyCar two-seater, with his terrified reaction being broadcast live for millions to see.

The NTT IndyCar Series will head to the Thermal Club for the second race of the season on Sunday, Mar. 23 at 3 p.m. EDT. 

Thomas Mazurowski can be reached at thomas.mazurowski@student.shu.edu. 

 

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