The fresh Florida air welcomes a new year, in which some key players embark on new journeys, as the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg opens the 2026 IndyCar season.
The venue itself has played host to many-a season openers as is the traditional slot for this event. Last year it was Alex Palou who reigned victorious, kickstarting his magnificent 2025 season.
Don’t expect the same this year as the last 6 races have been won by different drivers from 4 different teams. Including Scott McLaughlin’s maiden IndyCar victory in 2022.
Some storylines heading into the weekend:
Power the missing piece at Andretti?
The biggest off season bombshell was undoubtedly Colton Herta leaving the Andretti Global team to go F2 racing with HiTech. Equally as surprising was his replacement, in 18 year Team Penske veteran Will Power making the jump.
For the double champion a late career switch is fascinating, a new team, engine and people will take time to get used to. Surprisingly, despite having the best street course program for a number of years, the Andretti team has only won in St. Pete twice (Herta 2021, Hinchcliffe 2013).
Their 2x Long Beach GP winner Kirkwood has a best finish of 5th and the 2022 Indy 500 winner Ericsson was 6th both in 2025. Maybe an IndyCar veteran is what this team needs to conquer St. Pete and the season at large, as the team looks for their first championship since 2012.
Can Penske and Malukas bounce back?
The 2025 IndyCar season was one to forget for Team Penske, despite two wins (Power in Portland and Newgarden in Nashville), they were down in every metric, finishing 9th, 10th and 12th in final season points.
Everything that could go wrong, and the Indy 500 attenuator controversy fallout soured everyone’s taste. For a team as accomplished as Roger Penske’s one has to think 2026 will be better.
Their regular drivers Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden certainly hope so, as does David Malukas who finally gets his chance in a top team after losing his McLaren drive in 2024 following a pre-season injury. The 24 year old Chicgao native will be hoping to secure victory this season, likely on an oval like Gateway.
This year’s rookie class
Three drivers will be making their IndyCar debut this weekend as they each embark on their maiden seasons and contest for rookie of the year honours.
MICK SCHUMACHER (RLL) returns to open wheel racing having spent three years in WEC following his departure from the Haas F1 team in 2022 after two seasons. The 2020 F2 champion is certainly gonna bring a lot of eyeballs as he enters the IndyCar scene, one can hope he does well for himself.
DENNIS HAUGER (Coyne) won the 2025 Indy Lights championship and has since been promoted to the main series this year. Another F1 junior ladder champion in Formula 3 (2021) the Norwegian is set for a learning year in which he’ll hope to show signs of promise and progress.
CAIO COLLET (Foyt) was runner up to Hauger last year, he’ll step into what is definitely the best equipment of the three, but IndyCar is notoriously close between midfield teams so it’ll be exciting to see how he and all the others perform
Can Scott Dixion finally conquer the mountain?
It’s hard to imagine that in his illustrious career, Dixie hasn’t won on the streets of St. Pete yet. Maybe 2026 is the year the iceman puts that right and steals Palou’s thunder as top dog at Chip Ganassi Racing for the season to come.
Race coverage begins at noon est on FOX, for 100 laps, enjoy the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
written by Carlos Faria // Media Credit: Penske Entertainment
