ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The fresh start was a rough one for two-time IndyCar champion Will Power in his first race with a new team, and Mick Schumacher’s debut in North America’s premier open-wheel series was even worse.
Alex Palou? It was hard to tell the calendar had flipped from 2025 where the driver of the Honda-powered Chip Ganassi Racing No. 10 was concerned, and considering the 28-year-old Spaniard is chasing his fourth straight series championship and fifth in a six-year span, that was good news for Palou and his team.
Palou opened IndyCar’s 2026 season back on top of the podium in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, winning the race on a temporary street circuit downtown for the second year in a row, but this time in record-setting fashion. Palou was 12.4948 seconds ahead of runner-up Scott McLaughlin — who started in pole position in his Chevrolet-powered Team Penske No. 3 — to post the largest margin of victory in this race’s history.
“We’re so back, baby!” Palou radioed his team as he crossed the finish line.
Palou’s win last year in St. Petersburg kicked off what proved to be one of the most dominant IndyCar seasons in decades, with his Sunshine State triumph the first of eight victories that included his first Indianapolis 500 triumph on his sixth attempt.