2026 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

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Palou Chases Historic Four-Peat as Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Opens 2026 NTT IndyCar Season

Alex Palou arrives at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg as the defending NTT IndyCar Series champion for the fourth time in five seasons and with a chance to make history.

The four-time title winner from Barcelona, Spain (2021, 2023-25), will wheel the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda in pursuit of a fourth consecutive championship, a feat last achieved by Sebastien Bourdais with Newman/Haas Racing from 2004-07. Palou won last year’s race here in commanding fashion and now leads the championship field into the 23rd NTT IndyCar Series visit to the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit that snakes through downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, and incorporates a runway at Albert Whitted Airport.

The 100-lap, 180-mile contest is scheduled for Sunday, March 1, with the green flag set to fly at 12:29 p.m. ET after the “drivers, start your engines” command at 12:22 p.m. FOX will carry live coverage beginning at noon, with Will Buxton on the call alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey serve as pit reporters. The INDYCAR Radio Network will broadcast live across affiliates, SiriusXM IndyCar Nation 218 and the IndyCar app.

While Palou hunts history, Scott Dixon remains in search of his first victory on these streets. The six-time series champion from Auckland, New Zealand, will make his record-extending 420th NTT IndyCar Series start — and his 22nd at St. Petersburg — in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon owns five runner-up finishes here, an average finish of 7.33 and 10 straight top-10 results, including second place in 2025.

Will Power, the greatest qualifier in modern series history with a record 71 poles, will look to continue his dominance in qualifying. The Australian, now driving the No. 26 TWG AI Andretti Global Honda, has captured nine of the last 16 poles at this venue. Only a handful of others have broken that stranglehold in the past decade.

Seven past winners are entered this weekend. Power and Josef Newgarden of the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet each have two victories here while Graham Rahal and the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda won in 2008. Scott McLaughlin's No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet took the 2022 race and the NTT P1 Award last year. Marcus Ericsson of the No. 28 Delaware Life Andretti Global Honda won in 2023. Pato O’Ward of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet triumphed in 2024. Palou claimed victory in 2025.

Team Penske has visited victory lane 11 times at St. Petersburg, including seven of the last 14 races. Four drivers have won from the pole here, most recently McLaughlin in 2022. The winner has started fourth in five of the last 21 editions.

Three rookies will make their NTT IndyCar Series debuts on Sunday. Caio Collet lines up in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazona AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet. Dennis Hauger will drive the No. 19 Ault Block Chain Dale Coyne Racing Honda. Mick Schumacher joins Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda. Both Collet and Hauger have previous experience on these streets in Indy NXT by Firestone.

The format features 150 seconds of total push-to-pass time with a maximum 15-second activation and unlimited hybrid deployment up to 310 kilojoules per lap. Firestone provides five sets of primary tires and five sets of alternate tires, with rookies receiving one extra primary set. Teams must run one primary set and two alternate sets for at least two laps each during the race.

Practice begins Friday, Feb. 27, at 1:35 p.m. on FS2. Saturday brings another practice session and knockout qualifying for the NTT P1 Award at 4:35 p.m. on FS2. Sunday features a 9:05 a.m. warmup before race coverage begins at noon on FOX.