The North American open-wheel series returns from the off-season when IndyCar takes over the streets of St. Louis this weekend. Petersburg, Florida. The NTT series will organize 17 races this seasonculminating in Laguna Seca on September 10. In total, the Indycars will visit 15 tracks, consisting of six road tracks, five street tracks and four ovals.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg:
Five cars were killed in the crash in the first lap
The Grand Prize of St. Petersburg only made it through a few corners before the yellow and finally the red flags flew. As the field meandered through the turn three doubleheader, contact between Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist set off a chain reaction behind them as Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud, Santino Ferrucci, Sting Ray Robb, Devlin DeFrancesco and Benjamin Pederson were bundled up.
DeFrancesco took the brunt of the blows when his car went airborne after Pederson hit him with a t-bone. Incredibly, DeFrancesco was the first driver released from the on-site medical center. Dixon, Rosenqvist and Robb returned to the pits and were able to continue their racing days.
The Grand Prize of St. Petersburg starting grid
-
Romain Grosjean (28), Andretti Autosport Honda
-
Colton Herta (26), Andretti Autosport Honda
-
Pato O’Ward (5), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
-
Marcus Ericsson (8), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
-
Kyle Kirkwood (27), Andretti Autosport Honda
-
Scott McLaughlin (3), Team Penske Chevrolet
-
Alex Palou (10), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
-
Felix Rosenqvist (6), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
-
Scott Dixon (9), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
-
Will Power (12), Team Penske Chevrolet
-
Christian Lundgaard (45), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
-
Alexander Rossi (7), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
-
Marcus Armstrong (11), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
-
Josef Newgarden (2), Team Penske Chevrolet
-
Helio Castroneves (06), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
-
David Malukas (18), Dale Coyne Racing/HMD Motorsports Honda
-
Santino Ferrucci (14), AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet
-
Devlin DeFrancesco (29), Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda
-
Jack Harvey (30), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
-
Graham Rahal (15), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
-
Agustin Canopino (78), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
-
Callum Ilott (77), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
-
Sting Ray Robb (51), Dale Coyne Racing/Rick Ware Racing Honda
-
Rinus Veekay (21), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
-
Simon Pagenaud (60), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
-
Conor Daly (20), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
-
Benjamin Pederson (55), AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet
List of applications for Grand Prix St. Petersburg
Josef Newgarden (2), Team Penske Chevrolet
Scott McLaughlin (3), Team Penske Chevrolet
Pato O’Ward (5), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Helio Castroneves (06), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Felix Rosenqvist (6), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Alexander Rossi (7), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Marcus Ericsson (8), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Scott Dixon (9), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Alex Palou (10), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Marcus Armstrong (11), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Will Power (12), Team Penske Chevrolet
Santino Ferrucci (14), AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet
Graham Rahal (15), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
David Malukas (18), Dale Coyne Racing/HMD Motorsports Honda
Conor Daly (20), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
Rinus Veekay (21), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
Colton Herta (26), Andretti Autosport Honda
Kyle Kirkwood (27), Andretti Autosport Honda
Romain Grosjean (28), Andretti Autosport Honda
Devlin DeFrancesco (29), Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda
Jack Harvey (30), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Christian Lundgaard (45), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Sting Ray Robb (51), Dale Coyne Racing/Rick Ware Racing Honda
Benjamin Pederson (55), AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet
Simon Pagenaud (60), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Callum Ilott (77), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
Agustin Canopino (78), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
The broadcast schedule of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
All times ET
Friday, March 3 15-16:15: Practice 1 (Peacock, SiriusXM, IndyCar Radio)
Saturday, March 4 10-11: Practice 2 (Peacock, SiriusXM, IndyCar Radio) 14:15-15:30: Qualifying (Peacock, SiriusXM, IndyCar Radio)
Sunday, March 5 Noon-2:30 p.m.: Grand prize of St. Petersburg (NBC, Universo, SiriusXM, IndyCar Live, IndyCar Radio)
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg details
Track: Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida Turns: 14 (nine right, five left) Track length: 2.80 miles Laps: 100 Lap record: 59.346 seconds (Will Power, Team Penske Chevrolet, 2022)
Time for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
It’s Florida and it’s surrounded by water on three sides, so expect very different conditions. As of Friday afternoon, it is it is forecast to be hot and humid with highs below 80 degrees and a better than 50 percent chance of rain on Sunday. Even in optimal conditions, St. Petersburg is described by the drivers as one of the most physically demanding races on the calendar, so wrestling the car in the rain for even part of the 100 laps would be an even tougher challenge.