Alex Palou secured his first win around the streets of St. Petersburg, setting a strong start to his 2025 title challenge.
The NTT IndyCar series returned after 167 days, kickstarting its landmark year in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Alex Palou began his three-peat bid with a win around the unforgiving streets of St. Petersburg. IndyCar veterans Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden rounded out the podium after an intense battle in the closing stages of the race. Here’s how it unfolded.
Qualifying round-up
Scott McLaughlin had his dream start to the season, securing his 11th pole position around the 1.8-mile circuit. Beside him on the front row was Colton Herta. He crossed the line less than two tenths behind the Team Penske driver.
Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top three. In the other Meyer Shank Racing car, Marcus Armstrong qualified in fourth. The pair were the only team to have all of their cars in the fast six.
Behind them, Scott Dixon made an excellent recovery after a slight tap against the wall in the Fast 12 knockout, starting the first race of the season in fifth.
Alongside him and rounding out the top 6 was Christian Lundgaard who made quite the impression in his first qualifying session for Arrow McLaren.
On the flip side, his teammate Pato O’Ward started back in twenty third after a disappointing beginning for the Mexican. Another big name eliminated was Will Power.
St. Petersburg goes green
McLaughlin had a lightning start into Turn 1, Herta followed suit, not letting the Kiwi out of his sight.
Behind them, chaos unfolded when Power, running in thirteenth, hit the back of Nolan Siegel’s Arrow McLaren, spinning the pair out into the Turn 2 barriers.
Caught in the scrap was British debutant Louis Foster, who ended his first race on the first corner.
During the caution, those on the soft tyres opted to head into the pit lane, with Herta amongst the herd of drivers switching to the hard tyres.
Racing action went underway on the seventh lap. McLaughlin had Rosenqvist pressuring him into the final corner. However, he recovered and remained in the lead into the first corner.
The race began settling down and by lap fifteen, McLaughlin was keeping a steady gap between himself and Rosenqvist, as the top two began pulling away from the rest of the pack.
The AJ Foyt Racing pair were having an excellent start to the season, running sixth and seventh, respectively, with David Malukas running under a second ahead of his hungry teammate Santino Ferrucci.
On the flip side, O’Ward’s day went from bad to worse. After suffering a puncture on the first lap and being forced to retire, the Mexican had to pit yet again on lap twenty three. This time though, he opted for the prime tyres. However, it was just another hit to the No.5 Arrow McLaren, who ran in last.
More Pit Stops
The next set of pit stops happened on lap thirty-one. Rosenqvist was the first to head into pit lane, switching to the softer set of tyres.
McLaughlin finally came in for his first pit stop, putting a fresh set of soft tyres on. The Kiwi had an excellent stop, coming out of the pits in thirteenth, ahead of the Swede.
Herta, who had an excellent start to the season, headed into the pits on lap thirty-five; however, all the hard work up to that point now came undone. Whilst in pit lane, a struggle with the right rear caused the Californian to be stuck in pit lane for some time, dropping down to thirteenth.
After Dixon and Newgarden, who were running at the front, pitted, McLaughlin took the lead once again, with Armstrong seven seconds behind.
The No.66 had to return to the pits after issues he was reporting with the soft tyre. He changed his tyres once again to a pair of primaries and headed out of the pit lane.
McLaughlin, who pitted thirteen laps earlier, was dropping pace with his pair of softs wearing away. He rolled into pit lane on lap forty-five for a pair of primaries, making his race a three-stopper.
Armstrong continued struggling out on track, dropping back down into twenty second. The left rear had become loose, he headed back into pit lane, where he was forced to retire.
Lundgaard took control of the race on lap forty six, with Alexander Rossi running behind him. The pair were running on the alternative strategy, having only pitted once, so another two stops were inevitable.
The halfway mark
Callum Ilott was having a strong start in the debut of the PREMA, with the Briton running in ninth on lap fifty seven.
Lundgaard was beginning to run in dirty air with the Papaya catching up to Jacob Abel in twenty third. Rossi, running behind, was starting to put more pressure on the 23-year-old in the lead.
Lundgaard went in for his crucial stop, putting on a set of soft tyres with his mission to make the tyres last the final thirty-one laps.
Dixon took the lead of the race in the meantime. Palou was now running behind his teammate after Newgarden headed into pit lane for a quick fuel stop. The Nashvillian came out ahead of Lundgaard, a critical move.
Palou came in on lap seventy-two, coming out ahead of the Team Penske.
Dixon remained in the lead for another lap before heading into the pits. When leaving pit road, the three-time champion came around the corner, taking the undercut and successfully passing Dixon to take the race lead.
Newgarden was now running behind the Spaniard of Palou, making an excellent pass to ensure he remained ahead of Dixon.
As the final stint of the race was in place, Palou began creating a gap between himself and Newgarden, pulling a five-second gap by lap 78.
Closing Stages – Palou Vs Newgarden
Palou was hoping to run in clear air to nurse his tyres as Newgarden began chipping away at the gap between himself and the CGR car.
The Spaniard was stuck behind traffic on lap eighty-five. Ahead of him, Sting Ray Robb was making it a difficult task for the 27-year-old to pass. With no obligations to concede the position, Robb remained determined to stay on the lead lap.
This played in Newgarden’s favour, who began creeping up on Palou, cutting the gap down to just under 2 seconds, after clocking in the fastest lap of the race.
A tight race to the flag
Only five-tenths of a second were splitting the pair with 8 laps to go.
Palou was holding on, but looming in the background was Dixon, who had caught up to the pair. After several laps, Palou finally got past Robb on lap ninety-five; Newgarden and Dixon made quick work and followed suit, and the race to the flag was on.
Newgarden started struggling with his car, losing the balance, allowing Dixon to pass the No.2 Team Penske car. An incredible effort for the six-time champion, after it was revealed that for a majority of the race, he suffered from a broken radio and couldn’t communicate with his team about crucial information on fuel mileage.
As the pair crossed the line to secure CGR’s first 1-2 finish of the season, Newgarden rounded out the podium finishers. McLaughin, who started the weekend well, crossed in fourth with Kyle Kirkwood in fifth.
O’Ward made a mighty recovery, finishing in eleventh overall. Herta, however, wasn’t as lucky, whose issues relegated the Andretti driver to sixteenth.
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IndyCar returns on March 23rd with The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix
Featured image credits: Alex Palou via X
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