ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Alex Palou wins St. Pete, but his status as the favorite for the 2025 INDYCAR championship must wait.
The talented driver led 26 laps and secured victory on Sunday afternoon during the season-opening INDYCAR Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
He finished 2.8 seconds ahead of his teammate Scott Dixon and 6.2 seconds in front of Josef Newgarden.
Palou’s impressive record already includes three championship trophies, with titles from 2023 and 2024 among them.
“He makes it look easy, doesn’t he?” remarked Chip Ganassi, the team owner. “Makes it look easy. Doesn’t sweat.”
However, in an environment where sports results often elicit strong reactions, it’s premature to declare the Spaniard the 2025 champion.
His rivals certainly aren’t ready to concede.
“It’s Round 1,” stated third-place finisher Josef Newgarden. “Let’s see how it goes.”
Newgarden believed he could have claimed victory had it not been for fueling issues.
“We just had fuel miscues two times,” said Newgarden, who found himself running low on fuel during the final lap.
Teammate Dixon recognized the adjustments he needed to make to surpass Palou. Unfortunately, he missed a crucial communication from his crew regarding pit timing, leading him to pit a lap later than intended.
“Get a radio that works,” the six-time series champion Dixon quipped, highlighting the need for better communication to challenge Palou. “That would be good.”
Palou understands that this is just the first race of the season and that his success on Sunday was not merely luck. His performance in previous road and street courses indicates a strong upward trend, with results of second, fourth, second, first, and fourth.
“We’ve always struggled here for some reason, and we got it now to feel like what I need and what we need as drivers to push and to extract 100 percent,” Palou explained.
However, he cautioned that the lessons learned in St. Petersburg may not apply to other tracks, particularly since past struggles have not mirrored his performance at different venues.
Even with a solid finish, Newgarden felt a mix of satisfaction and frustration. His body language spoke volumes about his disappointment. Dixon echoed similar feelings.
“I’m pretty pissed off,” Dixon admitted. “We had a good race going and we didn’t get it done. It doesn’t feel good.”
This is the nature of racing. There are winners and those who feel they missed their chance, especially when they believe they could have performed better.
The Palou team excels in this environment. While mistakes are part of the game, Ganassi noted that Palou’s crew is composed of top-tier talent. “In terms of strategy, calling the race, communication — there’s nobody better than the 10 car guys,” he stated.
Ganassi acknowledged that his other teams, including Dixon and Kyffin Simpson, have work to do to keep pace with Palou.
“I don’t know that one race winner makes you [the favorite],” Ganassi remarked. “We’re certainly the season favorite until next week or until the next race. What I’m most happy about is each offseason, every team does work on their cars.”
“You don’t sit flatfooted all winter. You’re working on your cars trying to make them better. I think our cars are better than they were a year ago — at least here in St. Pete.”
