2026 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
 |
| Race details | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st round of the 2026 IndyCar season
| |||||
 Layout of the St. Petersburg street course | |||||
| Date | March 1, 2026 | ||||
| Official name | Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg | ||||
| Location | St. Petersburg street course, St. Petersburg, Florida | ||||
| Course | Temporary street circuit 1.800 mi / 2.897 km | ||||
| Distance | 100 laps 180.000 mi / 289.682 km | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver |  Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske) | ||||
| Time | 1:00.5426 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti Global) | ||||
| Time | 1:02.2131 (on lap 68 of 100) | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First |  Álex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) | ||||
| Second | Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske) | ||||
| Third |  Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren) | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
The 2026 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first round of the 2026 IndyCar Series. The race was held on March 1, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Florida at the Streets of St. Petersburg.[1] The race was contested of 100 laps. Álex Palou won the race, followed by Scott McLaughlin and Christian Lundgaard.[2]
Background
[edit]
The St. Petersburg street circuit is a 1.800-mile long street circuit in St. Petersburg, Florida, utilizing downtown streets, and one runway of Albert Whitted Airport. The track is notable for hosting the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the IndyCar Series season-opening race annually. The event dates back to 1985, with Indy cars first competing in 2003.
Entry list
[edit]| Key | Meaning |
|---|---|
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |
- Prema Racing was scheduled to run full-time, but was confirmed to miss the opening round.[3]
Practice
[edit]Practice 1
[edit]The first practice session was held on Friday, February 27, 2026.
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Lap Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin W
|
Team Penske | Chevrolet | 1:01.1020 |
| 2 | 60 |  Felix Rosenqvist
|
Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 1:01.1660 |
| 3 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood
|
Andretti Global | Honda | 1:01.1777 |
| Practice 1 results | |||||
Practice 2
[edit]The second and final practice session was held on Saturday, February 28, 2026.
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Lap Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Christian Lundgaard
|
Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet | 1:01.6157 |
| 2 | 66 | Marcus Armstrong
|
Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 1:01.6592 |
| 3 | 10 | Álex Palou W
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 1:01.6947 |
| Practice 2 results | |||||
Qualifying
[edit]Qualifying was held on Saturday, February 28, 2026.
Scott McLaughlin, driving for Team Penske, would score the pole for the race with a time of 1:00.5426 and a speed of 107.032 mph (172.251 km/h).[4]
- Notes
- Bold text indicates fastest time.
Warmup
[edit]The warmup session was held on Sunday, March 1, 2026.
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Lap Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 |  Pato O'Ward W
|
Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet | 1:01.5944 |
| 2 | 10 | Álex Palou W
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 1:01.5962 |
| 3 | 7 | Christian Lundgaard
|
Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet | 1:01.7964 |
| Warmup results | |||||
Race
[edit]The race was held on Sunday, March 1, 2026.[5]
Championship standings after the race
[edit]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Note: Only the top five positions are included.
References
[edit]- ^ "2026 Schedule" (PDF). IndyCar. Retrieved March 14, 2026.
- ^ DeGroot, Nick (March 1, 2026). "Full race results for the 2026 IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg". Motorsport. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
- ^ Dejewski, Kevin (February 25, 2026). "PREMA confirmed to miss opening IndyCar round". Motorsport Week. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
- ^ "2026 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Combined Qualifications Results". IndyCar. February 28, 2026. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
- ^ "2026 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Race Results". IndyCar. Retrieved March 14, 2026.