Before the sunshine and speed of St. Pete for the start of the 2026 NTT IndyCar season, Marcus Ericsson sat down with the media including Pit Debrief to discuss his thoughts ahead of the first race of the season.
Ericsson is heading into his eighth season, and his third with Andretti Global. As former winner on the streets of St.Pete
A perfect place to start after a rough IndyCar patch for Ericsson
Starting his third season in IndyCar with Andretti Global, Marcus Ericsson hasn’t had the easiest run of things in recent years. The Swedish driver’s last win was on the Streets of St. Pete back in 2023. However, Andretti Global has a great track record on streets circuits, as proved by Ericsson’s teammate Kyle Kirkwood during the 2025 season.
Speaking in a media call in the days leading up to the race weekend, Ericsson commented on how he felt about starting the season at a track where he’s done well in the past, as well as what the team is doing to bounce back following the offseason.
“Yeah, I think it’s a perfect place to start at. Like you said, I won there a couple years ago. I’ve been strong there I feel like every time I’ve been there. It’s a good track for me.
“For us as a group, I feel like we have a lot of momentum going in from the off-season. We have Will Power coming in from Penske. He’s been a great addition from the team. Also Ron Ruzewski, who is going to lead a team also coming from Penske.
“I feel like looking at myself personally, I’ve worked really hard this off-season. I’ve tried to really put myself a bit outside my comfort zone to challenge myself in different ways. I’ve driven a bunch of different cars that I haven’t driven in the past just to put myself in different situations where you’re maybe not so comfortable.
“I’m excited to get back in an INDYCAR and show that on track, as well. A lot of positive momentum for us going into the St. Pete weekend.”
Ericsson with a chip on his shoulder heading into 2026
It’s tough for most drivers, regardless of the series, to bounce back from a rough run, Ericsson included. In 2022, the 35-year-old Swede won the Indianapolis 500, a career highlight for any racer in the IndyCar series.
Speaking to the media, Marcus Ericsson was candid about his attitude heading into 2026 following his recent rough IndyCar seasons and what he would need to do to remind himself and others that he is still a driver capable of racing at the front of the field.
“Yeah, I definitely feel like I have a chip on my shoulder going into this season. I felt like the first year with Andretti was promising.
“Really last year should have been a better year. It was just going the other way. Was a really disappointing season. It’s been a lot of sort of looking at myself in the off-season trying to figure out how I can get back to the level I know I can be at, like you said, I know I can be at.
“There’s a bunch of things, as always. INDYCAR is still tight. That’s the thing last year, right? It wasn’t that we were bad, we were just missing a little bit. INDYCAR these days you miss a little bit, suddenly you’re P20. It’s not like you’re 10th or 12th. It’s such a competitive field, you can’t be a little bit off with the setup or your driving. If you are, you’re in the back.
“Have a new engineer this year in Ron Barhorst. Been a really promising start with him in Sebring and Phoenix. I felt like we made some big steps to get the car more in sort of the window I want the car to be in. That makes me very excited.
“My mindset is that I want to be back in the front of the field fighting for podiums and wins on a regular basis, fighting up front in the championship. I know I can do that. I’ve shown that plenty of times in the past. That’s my big goal for the year.”
Prioritzing focus and not frustration
Prior to the start of the 2026 NTT IndyCar season, the grid completes two tests at Sebring and Phoenix. Ericsson had put in a great run at Sebring, where the Swedish driver finished 11th overall with a 52.823. However, following what started as another great run at Phoenix, Ericsson underwent a quarter-spin out at Turn 4. The rear of his No. 28 Delaware Life Honda hit the barriers, with the Swede walking away unharmed.
Ericsson spoke to the media about the frustrations of the crash, things going from really good to really bad, and how he has learned to focus on the next challenge – instead of gettting hung up when things go wrong.
“I mean, that’s the tough part with racing, right? It goes quick from really good to really bad, stuff like that. Thankfully I’ve been around for a while, so I know that feeling. Right then and there in Phoenix when it happened, I was very frustrated because it was something out of my control that caused the crash. When it happens, really by the end of a test, when you’ve had a really good test, it’s just really frustrating.
“The next day it’s focus on the next thing. I’ve been really busy studying and just preparing for St. Pete. Leave that behind, what happened in Phoenix.
“Again, like I said, I think the test was really, really good. Whatever happened there in the end didn’t take away any of the test. We really made some really good progress that’s going to help us when we come back there in a couple of weeks. That’s part of racing. Sometimes stuff like that happens. You just got to put it behind you and focus forward. I feel like that’s what I’ve been doing and the team around me has done as well.”
Ericsson doesn’t expect much to be different on a return to the streets of St.Pete
Street races are some of the most unforgiving track types on the IndyCar calendar. However, Marcus Ericsson feels right at home on them, with wins at St.Pete, Detroit, and the Nashville street course thus far in his IndyCar career.
Ahead of the March 1st running of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the Swede spoke to Pit Debrief and other media outlets about his love for street circuits, what makes St. Pete such a good track, and whether he expected any major changes for the 2026 race.
“I think just in general I love the street courses. It’s always been one of my strengths as a driver. I won at Detroit. I won in Nashville on the streets there, as well. It’s always been something that has been something I like.
“I like the fact where you don’t have a lot of margins for error, where the walls are close. You have to be precise in your driving. That just suits me and the way I drive I think.
“St. Pete itself, I think what I really like about that race, it’s just the energy. The whole city sort of rallies around the race. It’s always a lot of Swedish fans coming over for some reason. They want to get out of cold and dark Sweden I guess at this time of the year. That always gives a good boost as well for me. Yeah, it’s a cool race to start the season.
“I think this year it’s not much different. It’s the same as always. It’s a great place. I think it’s a fantastic place to start the season for us in INDYCAR. Again, I go there with good memories. I know how to win that race. I know how to be in the front of the field there. That’s my focus.”
