The reigning IndyCar champion, Álex Palou from the Chip Ganassi team, began the 2025 season with a victory at the St. Petersburg street circuit (Florida, USA), marking his third win in the last four years. In this first race of the 17 scheduled, he started from the eighth position, showcasing outstanding performance in strategy and resisting attacks from Josef Newgarden of Team Penske in the final laps. Additionally, his teammate, New Zealander Scott Dixon, managed to climb from sixth place to complete a 1-2 for Chip Ganassi.
Bad luck fell on Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske), who, despite securing pole position, failed to execute his strategy and finished in fourth place. On the other hand, Mexican driver Pato O'Ward from Arrow McLaren had a comeback race starting from 23rd on the grid and finishing in 11th place, thus adding 19 points to his championship total.
During the race at St. Petersburg, Álex Palou took the lead on lap 73 after getting ahead of Scott Dixon following a pit stop. Despite a moment of apparent weakness when trying to lap Sting Ray Robb, Palou kept his composure and withstood Newgarden's constant attacks to secure his victory in a fabulous performance.
Meanwhile, McLaughlin was hampered by his strategy, and Christian Lundgaard from Arrow McLaren, who initially took the lead, had to pit, leaving the battle for victory between Palou, Dixon, and Newgarden. Additionally, an incident on the first lap resulted in the retirement of Will Power, Nolan Siegel, and Louis Foster, prompting several drivers to adjust their tire strategies during the race.
With this victory, Álex Palou leads the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series championship with 51 points, followed by his teammate Scott Dixon with 41 points. This first race has left a good omen for the Chip Ganassi team as the drivers prepare for the next events in the championship.
