IndyCar | St. Pete | Race | Palou throws down the gauntlet with dominant win in season-opener

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The 2026 IndyCar season kicks off with the race in St. Pete. Scott McLaughlin fires away from pole after a dominant qualifying session, and rookie Dennis Hauger starts from 3rd on debut.

Chaos and cautions on Lap 1

Scott McLaughlin holds position out of turn 1 from Ericsson, while rookie Dennis Hauger loses P3 to defending champion Alex Palou. Armstrong also overtakes the Norwegian.

Santino Ferrucci and String Ray Robb make contact side by side into Turn 4, collecting an innocent bystander in Mick Schumacher. The first full-course caution of the 2026 season is thrown on Lap 1 in St. Pete. Ferucci and Schumacher are out, while Robb manages to get away after a lock-up that caused the incident.

Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi take the opportunity to swap out their tyres during the caution and top up on fuel.

Following the collision at turn 4, Sting Ray Robb receives a penalty for avoidable contact.

Alexander Rossi makes big moves from the start, making up 7 positions from the restart in St.Pete.

Malukas in trouble early in the IndyCar St. Pete race

David Malukas runs into trouble early in St. Pete, locking up into turn 1 and earning himself a flat spot on his first set of tyres. Trouble continued to follow Malukas the left front tyre delaminated from that lock-up, forcing him to take a trip into the runoff.

Alexander Rossi took the opportunity early to run both sets of required soft tyre compounds, freeing him up for more flexibility in strategy later on in the race

On Lap 20, McLaughlin led Ericsson, Palou Armstrong, and Hauger rounded out the top 5.

A nightmare for Power

In a repeat of his crash from practice, Will Power is out of the race by Lap 25. Contact with the wall at turn 10 saw Power sustain massive damage to the rear suspension of his No. 26 Honda. On his debut race with Andretti, Power is out of contention in St. Pete.

Quickly following Power, Christian Rasmussen has a massive spin after contact with Kyffin Simpson into turn 1, but manages to regain control and avoid bringing out another caution.

Polesitter McLaughlin becomes the first of the race leaders to take a pit stop, followed by Ericsson and Hauger.

Ericsson barges past Marcus Armstrong as the Kiwi had overcut. The Swede manages to keep it on the road and take a position from the Kiwi. McLaughlin then pulled off an incredible pass on the Meyer Shank driver into turn 10.

A second caution comes as Dixon has a DNF at St. Pete

Running at the front of the field after a second pit stop, a loose rear-right wheel nut sees Dixon’s day in St. Pete come to an early end. Managing to avoid contact with the wall, Dixon pulls over with a runaway tyre and brings out the second FCY in St.Pete. It’s a bit of bad luck and bad timing from the No. 9 CGR crew. The race goes green once again with 43 laps completed in St. Pete.

Defending champion Palou charges ahead of Ericsson, McLaughlin, Armstrong, and Kirkwood with 50 laps down and a 2.5-second lead.

A stacked second half

As the Spanish driver runs away, 2.5 seconds separate 2nd through 7th, it’s a tight field. McLaughlin takes the inside line past Ericsson to put a hand on P2. However, some feisty, aggressive moves by Ericsson spark a battle between the Swede and Armstrong. The Andretti driver’s tyres completely fell off.

Holding a staggering 14-second lead sees Palou pit on lap 68 for his final stop. A new set of hard compound tyres and a slight front wing adjustment sends the Spanish driver smoothly back onto track in 6th.

A possible right-rear puncture draws attention to Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood after a brush following a battle for position with McLaughlin into turn 4 after a big undercut for the American. It’s down to the final 30 on the streets of St. Pete.

The closing gambit

St.Pete winds down the final 20 laps with Kyle Kirkwood holding steady behind Palou, having clawed through the field from 15th. Major movers in Josef Newgarden and Rinus VeeKay hold 7th and 9th from 23rd and 19th, respectively.

Kyle Kirkwood runs into a bit of trouble in the closing 10 laps, as he finds himself shorter on fuel than his competitors. However, the king of street circuits in 2025 continues to apply time pressure to Palou in 2nd, while holding back McLaughlin in P3.

Stunningly, Kirkwood falls victim to both Christian Lundgaard and Scott McLaughlin, falling to 4th with 5 laps left.

Alex Palou claims the first victory of 2026 in staggering style with textbook efficiency and a 13-second lead. Polesitter McLaughlin and the McLaren driver join the Spaniard on the Podium.

It’s the 28-year-old’s 20th win in 99 career starts.

The top 10 are rounded out by Kirkwood, O’Ward, Ericsson, Newgarden, Grosjean, VeeKay, and a stunning rookie debut from Hauger.