After nearly six months away, it’s time for IndyCar to return. This week, the 2026 NTT IndyCar season begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. A street track that tests precision and adaptability is the first challenge for drivers this year. With 25 eager drivers, 10 raring teams, and countless excited fans, what will the opening round bring this year?
Last year, Álex Palou made his statement in St. Petersburg: he was there to win. And win he did, taking his first victory in Florida and setting the tone for his dominant season. However, Palou took advantage of utilising the alternate strategy. This was made possible by Will Power, Nolan Siegel, and Louis Foster causing a first-lap caution.
With a new winner, a rookie out, and strategy being key, St. Petersburg in 2025 set the season off with a bang. Will we see a repeat this year?
The Streets of St. Petersburg Create an Opening to Remember
“I think the setting down there by the water is really cool. There’s so many fans showing up every year. I feel like the atmosphere just makes it a really cool place to kick off our season. Usually the race itself is a really good race. It’s just a perfect place to
start the season.“
~ Marcus Ericsson speaking to The Girls Who – Motorsport about St. Pete being the opening race.
Since 2009, St. Petersburg has served as the season opener for IndyCar—2020 and 2021 were the exceptions due to Covid-19 rescheduling. Utilising the streets of the Floridian city has consistently provided tight battles throughout the race. This provides fans with action from the moment the flag drops.
The street track can be found in St. Petersburg, Florida. It utilises the downtown streets and one of the runways from the Albert Whitted Airport. Drivers face 100 laps of the 1.8-mile circuit. Featuring 14 turns and three long straights, there are plenty of overtaking opportunities. The close barriers and tight turns, however, make precision a key attribute of the race, and can be punishing if a driver miscalculates. Unlike other street circuits, though, St. Petersburg sees a relatively smooth pavement, allowing for high-grip and constant track conditions.
Speaking to The Girls Who – Motorsport, Andretti Global driver Marcus Ericsson shared that “all the drivers are really excited to be there.” As the 2023 winner, he explained how the “section from four to nine … really tough” due to its “flowy and technical“ nature. For him, the key to the track is to “have a car that behaves” whilst still having good flow around the circuit.
What to Expect in 2026
Álex Palou comes into the race as the reigning champion and winner of this race last year. He’ll be aiming to continue his winning form into this season. Despite him, plenty of drivers are hungry to knock him from the top spot. Fresh off his best finish in the series, Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward will be hoping he can win the race on track, not through post-race penalties like in 2024.
Seven of the current grid have previously won here, with Will Power and Josef Newgarden both holding two wins. Both Graham Rahal and Scott McLaughlin saw their first victory at this track, and it was the site of Marcus Ericsson’s last win. Team Penske has the most wins here, with 11, whereas Hélio Castroneves holds the most wins for a driver at three.
The Streets of St. Petersburg historically brings an action-packed start to the season. 2026 sees three rookies join the grid; how will they adapt to the series in the opening round? Watch out for Palou as he looks to start his reigning season off strong. But don’t forget about the other drivers as they try to take his crown. St. Pete is unpredictable. What will it give us this year?
The 2026 Changes
Ahead of the race weekend, IndyCar announced some changes that will come into effect at St. Petersburg. In previous years, when at street courses, drivers were required to use one set of each tyre and a new set. Now, drivers must use one set of primary tyres and two sets of the alternative compound. There is now no requirement to use new tyres. This change is expected to create more strategy options and provide more wheel-to-wheel action on track.
Similarly, practice 2 for road and street courses has been updated. Now, it follows the format of practice 1, with a 40-minute full-field session. Two 12-minute segments conclude the session, and the grid is split by odd and even pit boxes.
Schedule
The schedule for the weekend is as follows. Please note that times are in CET.
It’s time for the 2026 IndyCar season to begin. Who will come out on top?