By: Spencer Neff
March 1, 2026

2026 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Results

Opportunistic pit strategy from Chip Ganassi Racing coupled with his strong pace would see Alex Palou cruise to victory in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the first of 18 rounds in the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship.

Palou started fourth and led 59 of 100 laps on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn Florida street circuit. It is the 20th victory of his career, placing him in a tie for 23rd all-time with Earl Cooper. 85 of Palou’s 99 career starts have been with CGR but 44 of his 45 career podiums and all 20 victories have been with the organization since joining them in 2021.

The Barcelona, Spain native kicks off his quest for a fourth consecutive championship and fifth in six years with a second victory at the season opener in as many years. He also is the fifth driver to win consecutive races at St. Petersburg, joining Helio Castroneves (2006-2007), Juan Pablo Montoya (2015-2016), Sebastien Bourdais (2017-2018) and Josef Newgarden (2019-2020).

CGR now has their fourth victory at St. Petersburg and third in the last four years, it is their 146th INDYCAR victory in their 37th season.

Palou held off pole sitter Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske by 12.4988 seconds for the victory. That overtakes Paul Tracy’s victory over Michel Jourdain Jr. in the 2003 debut race with CART for widest margin of victory in the race’s history (12.136 seconds)

Arrow Mclaren’s Christian Lundgaard followed in third after starting 12th for a second Chevrolet on the podium behind Palou’s Honda.

Completing a massive fuel save, Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood charged from 15th to fourth. Arrow Mclaren’s Pato O’Ward would round out the Top Five.

After qualifying third, Dale Coyne Racing’s Dennis Hauger would finish his debut race in 10th. Caio Collet of A.J. Foyt Racing would end the race in 17th.

Recap

As was the case last year, the first lap of 2026 would not be completed without incident. Entering Turn 4, A.J. Foyt Racing”s Santino Ferrucci and Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Sting Ray Robb collided into the inside tire barriers. Robb continued on but Ferrucci’s day ended without completing a lap.

Mick Schumacher’s INDYCAR debut with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing would also be halted early as he was caught up in the collision. Robb would be assessed a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact when the race would get restarted on Lap 6. Ferrucci and Schumacher finished 24th and 25th. Robb would finish six laps down in 21st.

On Lap 13, David Malukas found trouble in his debut with Team Penske with a flat left-front tire. Maluaks would make it to pit road but fell off the lead lap after running seventh and starting fifth. He would rebound and take 13th to start 2026.

Less than 10 laps after, Will Power’s debut with Andretti Global nearly reached an early halt. Suspension damage following contact with the outside wall in Turn 10, similar to his incident during Saturday practice, would be the culprit. After extensive repairs, Power was able to return but fell out of the race after completing 55 laps, settling for a 21st-place finish.

Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussn spun between Turns 1 and 2 after contact from Kyffin Simpson of Chip Ganassi Racing but continued on. McLaughlin would pit from the lead as Ericsson, Palou, Scott Dixon and Louis Foster cycled to the lead.

Following his pit stop, Dixon would nearly crash in Turn 5 after the right-rear tire on his car broke loose. Dixon would not continue on and finished 23rd.

Palou would pick up the lead of the race following the remainder of the pit stop cycle ahead of the Lap 44 restart.

He would pit for his set of primary tires on Lap 68 and retook the lead with 30 laps to go. From there, Palou held on for the victory.

Two cautions for seven laps slowed the race to 96.118 mph. Seven drivers would lead the race, accounting for eight lead changes. 19 of 25 cars finished on the lead lap.

Up Next

The 2026 schedule continues its fast start as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads to Phoenix Raceway for the Good Ranchers 250.

Opening practice on the 1.022-mil oval in Avondale, Arizona will be at 10:00 a.m. ET on Friday, March 6. Qualifying will be at 2:00 p.m. ET with a 30-minute split-group “high-line” session preceding final practice at 4:30 p.m. All Friday broadcasts will be on FS2.

On Saturday, FOX will have the broadcast of the Good Ranchers 250 at 3:00 p.m. ET. The green flag on the 250-lap race is set for 3:20 p.m. IndyCar1909.com will be on-site and credentialed at Phoenix Raceway for the weekend. Stick with us for the latest on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

Header Image By Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment