Alex Palou kicked off his IndyCar title defence with a superb drive to victory on the streets of St. Petersburg.
The Spaniard is aiming for his fourth title and third in a row for Chip Ganassi Racing after a superb run of success in IndyCar.
Palou recovered from a lacklustre qualifying which saw him fail to make the Firestone Fast Six and start the season-opener in eighth place.
He kept out of trouble as chaos kicked off behind him on the opening lap. It caused an early Full Course Caution to neutralise the race.
The reigning champion performed an undercut before the final stint to get in front of his teammate Scott Dixon by pitting one lap earlier, on a circuit that usually favours an overcut. Dixon had his issues with no team radio throughout much of the race.
Alex Palou was held up by Sting Ray Robb towards the end of the race
Palou was held up by Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Sting Ray Robb in the race’s closing stages. The American tried to stay on the lead lap.
In the post-race press conference, the race winner explained that he’d like some adjustments made to the push-to-pass regulations. This would be rather than adding blue flags as Robb burned through his boost allocation to stay in front.
“I wouldn’t like the blue flag. Yes, today I would have said ‘yes, blue flag, please, get this car out of the way’. But there’s many times where I’m last, as well, and I don’t want to get lapped.
“I like the blue flag rule. Maybe I would modify the OT rule because that would be — I would say more fair because that way you don’t allow the car in front of you to burn, as I said, 50 seconds off OT like I think Sting Ray went from 70 seconds of OT down to zero in like 10 laps.”
Palou was in control of the race, cruising towards his first win in St. Petersburg while pulling away from Josef Newgarden and Dixon.
The pair then closed the gap and applied pressure when Palou was stuck behind Robb. He wasn’t obligated to get out of the No. 10 car’s way.
Alex Palou’s victory at St. Petersburg is an ominous sign for the IndyCar grid
Palou was incredibly precise over the 100-lap race in Florida to take his first win at St. Petersburg. His first championship in 2021 also saw the Spaniard win in the opening race at Barber Motorsports Park.
He can be challenging to stop as Palou is very consistent and can often take advantage of his rivals’ mistakes. Will Power’s unforced error at the Milwaukee Mile last season was a clear example on a difficult day.
It was an attritional race in Florida, Team Penske’s Power was involved in an incident on the opening lap with Nolan Siegel.
There was drama for Arrow McLaren’s senior driver Pato O’Ward who suffered a puncture on his way to 11th place. Andretti Global’s Colton Herta slumped to P16 but did gain a point for leading a lap.
This gives Palou an advantage as a few of his likely rivals for the championship are already trying to catch up. The next round at The Thermal Club is a slight unknown as it is a points-paying race, unlike in 2024.
