Palou opens 2026 INDYCAR season with dominant St. Petersburg victory

Written from press releases and box scores

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — March 1, 2026

Alex Palou began his bid for a fourth straight NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship the same way he ended 2025 — in control.

Palou, the reigning series champion, drove the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to a commanding win Sunday in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, beating pole-sitter Scott McLaughlin’s No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet by 12.4948 seconds.

Christian Lundgaard charged from 12th on the grid to finish third in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, while Kyle Kirkwood slipped from second late to place fourth in the No. 27 Andretti Global Honda. Pato O’Ward rounded out the top five in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Palou started fourth and used sharp strategy — including an “overcut” during the first round of pit stops — to seize control near the race’s midpoint and then stretch the margin to the largest winning gap in the event’s 23-race history. He led 59 of the 100 laps on the 1.8-mile temporary street circuit.

Sunday’s race was the first under a new INDYCAR rule requiring teams to use at least two sets of Firestone’s softer alternate tires (red sidewalls), adding another layer to the pit-stop chess match. Palou and longtime strategist Barry Wanser timed their cycles to perfection, staying out longer than their rivals in the first sequence and blending back in front once the field cycled through.

McLaughlin, who led early from pole, settled for second after trying to close late with fresher tires. Lundgaard and McLaughlin both moved around Kirkwood in the closing laps to secure second and third.

Rookie Dennis Hauger was the top-finishing first-year driver, placing 10th for Dale Coyne Racing. Another rookie, Mick Schumacher, saw his INDYCAR debut end almost immediately after a Lap 1 incident in Turn 4.

The series continues next weekend with the Good Ranchers 250 on Saturday, March 7, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.

The post Palou opens 2026 INDYCAR season with dominant St. Petersburg victory first appeared on The Bloomingtonian.