IndyCar opened its 2026 campaign on the Streets of St. Petersburg over the weekend. (Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment photo)

By Thomas Hughes, SWN Staff Writer

ST PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 2, 2026) – The 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season is officially underway. One race is already in the books, with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg having concluded.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, the four-time series champion and defending title winner, romped to a relatively comfortable victory on the streets of St. Petersburg Sunday, opening his campaign the same way he closed the last one — in control.

Here are the three key observations from IndyCar’s opening weekend at St. Pete.

1. It’s going to be hard to stop Palou this season.

The above is an observation that appeared relatively baked before the season even began but is one that is now significantly more concrete. After all, Palou was an eight-time victor last season, claiming wins in nearly half of 2025’s 17-race slate.

Sunday only reinforced that trajectory.

Palou didn’t simply win the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg; he controlled it. After cycling to the lead with an overcut (by staying out longer than his rivals) through the first round of pit stops, he dictated the pace across the middle stints and never allowed the field to mount a sustained challenge.

Even as strategies diverged and tire compounds varied, the No. 10 crew remained insulated from real pressure. 

The final margin — 12.495 seconds — was telling. On a tight street circuit where cautions, traffic and strategy typically compress gaps, Palou instead stretched the advantage.

If last season suggested he was the benchmark, St. Petersburg reconfirmed it. Beating Palou in 2026 won’t just require pace. It will require disrupting a driver and team that rarely leave openings to exploit.

2. Dennis Hauger looked like he belongs.

For a driver making his IndyCar debut, Hauger didn’t approach the weekend like a rookie trying to survive. The Norwegian qualified third and backed it up with a composed drive to 10th, the best result among the three first-year competitors vying for rookie-of-the-year honors.

Street courses punish overconfidence and inexperience in equal measure. Hauger avoided both. He stayed clean through the opening laps, navigated multiple pit cycles without incident and managed the new mandatory alternate tire stints without the kind of drop-off that can swallow newcomers.

While others around him shuffled positions amid strategy calls and late-race tire gambles, Hauger remained steady. 

For Dale Coyne Racing, the pace shown in qualifying wasn’t a fluke. Hauger was aggressive when the track allowed it and disciplined when it didn’t. A top-10 in a driver’s first start doesn’t define a season, but it establishes a baseline.

If St. Petersburg was an audition, Hauger passed with flying colors.

No. 3: Scott McLaughlin maximized his weekend.

McLaughlin left St. Petersburg without the trophy, but not without momentum.

The Team Penske driver earned pole position and controlled the early portion of the race, leading the field into the first strategic window. On a circuit where track position is everything, that mattered. McLaughlin was assertive on restarts and decisive in traffic, rarely putting a wheel wrong across 100 laps.

The pivotal sequence came during the first major pit cycle. McLaughlin surrendered the lead for service, and when strategies unfolded, he found himself chasing, rather than dictating. From there, the race became one of pressure management.

McLaughlin kept the gap within reach through the middle stints and capitalized late, using fresher tires to reclaim second in the closing laps.

More importantly, McLaughlin looked comfortable with the car’s balance across both tire compounds. While others struggled to maintain consistency over long runs, he adapted quickly, especially as grip levels evolved.

That adaptability will matter across a 17-race calendar that shifts from tight street circuits to high-speed ovals.

A 12-second margin at the finish suggests a sizable gap. The weekend context tells a more nuanced story. McLaughlin started first, finished second and collected significant points. It’s hard to do much better than that, unless you actually win the race (see Alex Palou above).

If the opener revealed anything, it’s this: McLaughlin isn’t chasing form. He already has it.

Next Up

IndyCar is back in action this coming weekend when the American open-wheel caravan travels to Arizona’s Phoenix Raceway for the Good Ranchers 250, set for Saturday, March 7 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, the IndyCar Radio Network, and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation, channel 218.