IndyCar Gradebook: Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
- Dan Jones
- 3 hours ago
- 10 min read
St. Petersburg marked a new IndyCar season but the headlines were taken by the same Álex Palou, who's 2025 form showed no sign of stopping in the Florida streets. DIVEBOMB IndyCar Correspondent, Dan Jones, graded all 25 drivers' performances during the St. Petersburg weekend.
IndyCar is back! Gradebook is back! It's that time again where we review how all 25 drivers fared each weekend. New for 2026 - the illusive A* grade - but don't expect this to be seen often and we'll keep up to date with a drivers season's average grade. But let's look back into how the field fared on the St. Pete streets for Gradebook 1 of 17 in 2026.
Chip Ganassi Racing
No.8 - Kyffin Simpson - C
Raw pace was something that developed into Kyffin Simpson's arsenal in 2025 but the Cayman Islander was generally let down across the course of the year by inconsistency. That was the same story for Simpson in St. Pete. Simpson made it through to the Fast 12, qualifying in 10th but failed to make a significant impact on Sunday, with his most notable moment being getting involved in a tangle with Christian Rasmussen. Simpson finished an underwhelming 15th to kick off his 2025.
No.9 - Scott Dixon - C-
This was a very rare, very messy weekend for Scott Dixon. A major crash on Friday compromised the New Zealander of precious track time and when it came to qualifying, he spun on one of his fast laps before making a major error in the final corner on another. Trying to pull the rabbit out of the hat from the back, Dixon was trying something different with strategy but that came to an abrupt end mid-way through when his tyre was unattached after pitting. The wait for a St. Pete win continues for Dixon.
No.10 - Álex Palou - A+
What superlatives can I even provide to Álex Palou at this point without repeating what I said last year? It seemed impossible that off the back of 2025 that he could raise his bar even higher and yet he still found a way at St. Petersburg. He executed the No.10 stand's strategy perfectly again and felt in a different class when he pulled a 15 second gap on the Lap 44 restart and never looked back from there. It felt like it would be difficult for Palou to be beaten this season, his St. Petersburg performance makes it feel impossible. If people had forgotten how good Palou was in the six months away, he reminded everybody just what he is capable of.
Team Penske
No.2 - Josef Newgarden - B-
After last year's nightmare for Josef Newgarden, St. Petersburg marked the first opportunity to put his 2025 struggles behind him, albeit before Sunday it had looked as if they were still alive. Newgarden crashed in practice and then qualified last in his group and had to start near the back on Sunday. That said, a quietly strong drive on Sunday with well executed strategy and no errors meant Newgarden brought home a solid seventh place finish. Not the standards that him or Penske are looking for, but the type of weekends Newgarden was really looking for last year.
No.3 - Scott McLaughlin - A
Like his teammate, Scott McLaughlin came into St. Petersburg needing a good start to the season and the New Zealander did that to great avail. McLaughlin showed good pace all weekend, topping practice before converting that into pole on Saturday - for the second consecutive year at St. Petersburg. On Sunday, he led superbly from the start and managed his early lead comfortably. However, McLaughlin would cycle out of the lead during the pitstop phases and despite some incredible overtakes, he was no match for the dominant Palou. A second-place finish was about all McLaughlin could have asked for and the exact form he means to continue in this planned bounceback year.
No.12 - David Malukas - B-
Although there was little to show for it, it was certainly an encouraging first Penske weekend for David Malukas. The Lithuanian-American made the Fast Six on Penske debut, on a track the Captain's outfit are traditionally strong at. However, a major lock-up early on Sunday proved costly as the tyre later delaminated which sent Malukas off track and lost a lap when running just outside the top five. Malukas did recover to an ironically unlucky 13th after his minor error had significant consequences. He's certainly no stranger to the spotlight and these results will come with experience.
Andretti Global
No.26 - Will Power - D+
Whilst it was a first Penske weekend to be pleased with for Malukas, it was not a first Andretti weekend to be remembered for Will Power. A crash in second practice at Turn 10 cost Power valuable track time, with the lack of familiarity costing him a transfer spot in qualifying despite his impeccable St. Pete qualifying record. Power had the opportunity to make amends on Sunday, but a near-identical crash to the one he had in practice on Lap 21 saw his day end early - with Power unhappy with his brakes. Not a first weekend to remember but the quick start to 2026 gives Power an opportunity to put this result behind him.
No.27 - Kyle Kirkwood - A-
Kyle Kirkwood's street course form was imperious in 2025, which made it all the more baffling as to why the American failed to transfer in qualifying after showing well in practice in St. Pete. Starting 15th on Sunday, Kirkwood reminded everybody why he is considered a street course specialist. He methodically made his way through the field and with the execution of multiple undercuts, Kirkwood brought himself into the top five. After the final round of stops, Kirkwood found himself in second, chasing down Palou before having to back of for fuel concerns. St. Pete hasn't typically been Kirkwood's strongest street track and a fourth place finish was a strong result all things considered.
No.28 - Marcus Ericsson - A-
One of many trying to put a disastrous 2025 behind him, St. Petersburg was exactly the type of weekend Marcus Ericsson needed. Ericsson was the lead Andretti for most of the weekend and impressed by lining up alongside McLaughlin on the front row. Ericsson stayed cool during the opening stints and looked in victory contention before he collapsed through the order at the end of the second stint when his tyres fell away. Ericsson still did well to recover to sixth, but if not for the end-of-stint fall-off, he certainly would have stood on the podium. A mostly positive weekend, but Ericsson may leave frustrated.
Arrow McLaren
No.5 - Pato O'Ward - A-
As we had strangely become accustomed to in 2025, it was not a weekend of spectaculars for Pato O'Ward, but still one where the Mexican brought home a very strongly result. A decent run to eighth for O'Ward in qualifying gave him a strong position to fight from and made methodical progress throughout the race to quietly come home to a respectable fifth-place finish. It's exactly the type of results O'Ward needs for a championship push in the long-run on weekends he doesn't have the pace - but a championship push relies on Palou stuttering..... an impossible thought.
No.6 - Nolan Siegel - D
In a must-perform season for Nolan Siegel, St. Petersburg set a worrying tone for what could lie ahead. Whilst his teammates proved competitive once again, Siegel qualified just 22nd and was a non-factor on race day. He finished 20th at the flag - the last car running who hadn't had significant problems. That was all compounded by Siegel being lapped on the final lap whilst his teammates came home in third and fifth. Not the start to the season that the American needed.
No.7 - Christian Lundgaard - A
Christian Lundgaard started 2026 on the same mark as he left 2025 as he continues to establish himself as one of the series' strongest drivers. Although McLaren lacked pace in qualifying, with Lundgaard down in 12th, he made good progress throughout the field alongside O'Ward and made a decisive move on his teammate when an opportunity presented itself. Lundgaard showed superb pace on his final alternate stint and was maybe unfortunate that he did not move up to second. That said, a strong drive to third only cements Lundgaard's growing reputation as a star of the series.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No.15 - Graham Rahal - C
It was a generally quiet weekend for Graham Rahal, in the first weekend for the team since significant leadership changes were made in the off-season. The American qualified in 18th, the same position as he finished on Sunday - unable to make any significant impact during the race itself on a black-red-red strategy.
No.45 - Louis Foster - C+
St. Pete was a similar story with what we saw a lot of from Louis Foster in 2025. Good qualifying pace but a race day struggle from a strategy execution and tyre management standpoint. Despite crashing in practice, Foster qualified an impressive ninth and moved into the top seven early on but pitted up to 16 laps earlier than the majority of the runners around him after struggling with the alternates, which forced him into an extra stop and out of any meaningful contention. Something he will need to continue to work on in his sophomore year.
No.47 - Mick Schumacher - C-
Mick Schumacher probably did not envisage his IndyCar debut lasting four corners, but he was taken out through no fault of his own after being caught out by Sting Ray Robb's mistake. There's no secret how big the learning curve is for Schumacher, who struggled relatively in just 21st in qualifying. Race day provided the German no opportunity to make amends.
Meyer Shank Racing
No.60 - Felix Rosenqvist - C+
It turned out to be a disappointing weekend for Felix Rosenqvist in St. Petersburg after him and Meyer Shank Racing showed a lot of early weekend potential. Rosenqvist qualified 11th but made good progress to seventh early on, however struggled with tyre management before plummeting through the order at the end of the first stint. That forced the No.60 stand onto an alternate strategy and saw Rosenqvist finish in an underwhelming 12th.
No.66 - Marcus Armstrong - B+
A 11th-place finish is far from what Marcus Armstrong deserved at St. Petersburg after the young New Zealander impressed once again. Armstrong qualified well in seventh and made some big moves at the start to move up to fourth with excellent racecraft. He had looked in contention for the podium before Ericsson made a ruther aggressive block into Turn 1 which sent Armstrong wide as he lost three positions. A poor pitstop cost Armstrong more time and he eventually finished in 11th - a very unjust result for his performance.
Ed Carpenter Racing
No.20 - Alexander Rossi - C-
It was a disappointing start to 2026 for Alexander Rossi and Ed Carpenter Racing who looked far from the form they displayed at the end of 2025. Rossi qualified last in his group and made little progress on race day, finishing 16th after trying an adventurous strategy in the opening laps to get off the alternate tyres. He topped the recent Unser Open Test at Phoenix, where IndyCar heads on Saturday.
No.21 - Christian Rasmussen - C-
It was a bit of Christian Rasmussen-like weekend at St. Petersburg. Often on the limit and often having consequences because of it. Rasmussen had a heavy crash in second practice but rebounded well to qualify in 14th. He had showed respectably early on before colliding with Simpson - when Rasmussen left very little space on the inside for Simpson to navigate. Rasmussen finished 19th at the chequered.
AJ Foyt Racing
No.4 - Caio Collet - C
It was by no means a stellar first IndyCar weekend for Caio Collet, but by no means a disastrous one either. Collet struggled in qualifying, lining up just 24th and was generally at the back on Sunday. Collet did successfully complete all 100 laps though on his way to 17th in a mistake-free rookie weekend.
No.14 - Santino Ferrucci - C-
It was not the start to 2026 that Santino Ferrucci was hoping for after being involved in the same incident as Schumacher due to Robb's clumsiness. Ferrucci qualified respectably in 17th - ahead of his teammates and about the position we've become accustomed to the American qualifying in but it would mean little just four corners into the season. He heads to Phoenix to try and prove his oval prowess once again.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
No.76 - Rinus VeeKay - B+
There was always a bit of a question mark if Rinus VeeKay would be able to replicate what he showed at Dale Coyne Racing in 2025 when he made the surprise move to Juncos Hollinger Racing, and St. Petersburg proved VeeKay had the capability to do it again. After qualifying 19th, the No.76 opted for an unorthodox three-stop strategy, which paid dividends as VeeKay quietly moved up to ninth by the chequered flag. It's exactly what he showed here 12 months ago and bodes well for VeeKay's year ahead.
No.77 - Sting Ray Robb - D-
It may be a new year, but Robb endured the same difficulties that we have unfortunately seen from him too many times. Qualifying started positively, with Robb outpacing VeeKay (but qualified behind him as he was in a different group), but all that encouragement meant little when he completely overshot Turn 4 and took Schumacher and Ferrucci with him. Robb was able to continue with our next sighting of the American being him in the wall at Turn 8 on Lap 44. It was a fairly catastrophic start to the year - a shame after a better-than-usual qualifying performance.
Dale Coyne Racing
No.18 - Romain Grosjean - A-
It was quite the IndyCar return for Romain Grosjean on the Streets of St. Pete. After a respectable practice session, Grosjean made a surprise appearance in the Fast Six and would hold his own during the opening exchanges on Sunday. On an unfavoured red-black-red strategy, Grosjean remained in the top 10, coming home eighth at the finish. A highly impressive result considering the circumstances and familiarity to the form Grosjean showed in his first stint with the team.
No.19 - Dennis Hauger - A-
If anybody wasn't aware of the talent Dennis Hauger has, they certainly are leaving St. Petersburg. 'The Norwegian Nightmare' stunned in qualifying by lining up third, just 0.03 seconds off pole on his IndyCar debut. Although inexperience meant he slightly fell down the order in the opening exchanges, Hauger showed maturity beyond his years throughout the race with good tyre management and race execution. That culminated with an impressive top 10 finish on debut, and the teams' first double top 10 finish since Gateway 2022. He deals the first blow in the highly-anticipated Rookie of the Year battle.
