Motorsport TechnologyAlex Palou continued where he left off at the end of 2025, racing to an utterly dominant 12 second victory at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix and with it his 20th career IndyCar victory.
Palou came into the NTT IndyCar opener with the possible pressure of pre-season favourite on his shoulders.
It didn’t weigh heavy as the reigning and four-time champion put in a commanding performance to head home Scott McLaughlin and Christian Lundgaard.
Kyle Kirkwood, Pato O’Ward and Marcus Ericsson rounded out the top five.
If lost, return to Victory Lane 🏆 pic.twitter.com/FcaijbSFA8
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 1, 2026
“This team keeps on improving, keeps on making new changes, and they just keep on raising the bar,” Palou is quoted on IndyCar.com. “It’s pretty impressive. It’s a long season in front of us, but what a great way to start the season.”
For McLaughlin, a second-place finish represented a welcome return to the podium as he also secured an extra point for securing pole position and led for 34 laps on race day.
“Our Chevy was fast, but it’s just a mixed bag on what tire you start on,” McLaughlin is quoted on IndyCar.com. “Maybe we come back here again, and maybe you start on reds (alternate) and just get them out of the way.
“Overall, made the passes we needed to make at the right times, and I thought we maximized our day.
“Obviously, you want to be top step, but I think that was a solid day for us. I think we maximized our strategy.
“I think it was going to go one way or the other with (tire selection). I maybe thought (Firestone’s primary compound) could have probably performed a little bit better in (our) first stint, but my car just didn’t probably turn that tire on well enough.”
Had our fun in the sun 🤘
Where did your favorite driver finish in the @GPSTPETE? pic.twitter.com/6zOursRHEx
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 1, 2026
