LIVE: 2026 IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Live Commentary and Race Updates
Live commentary and race updates from the Motorsport.com team throughout the 2026 IndyCar season-opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
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THANK YOU so much for following along in Motorsport's live commentary and minute-by-minute updates for the 2026 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
What a brilliant drive by Palou, once again.
99 starts, 20 wins, and 45 podiums for Palou...just unreal.
Podium ceremony now underway!
P1 - Alex Palou & Chip Ganassi Racing
P2 - Scott McLaughlin & Team Penske
P3 - Christian Lundgaard & Arrow McLaren
IndyCar on FOX says Palou's margin of victory was the largest in the history of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg!
Lundgaard led the way for McLaren, and says the team put a lot of effort in during the offseason. And their efforts netted them a double top five for the season-opener.
"Good start...it's just a mixed bag on what tire you start on."
McLaughlin believes Team Penske 'maximized' their day.
Palou led 59 of 100 laps today. Just another incredible drive.
Chip says it was an "interesting off-season on and off the track," referencing the lawsuit McLaren filed against Palou for breach of contract, which did go to trial.
Palou praises Ganassi for raising the bar, every single year, saying in Victory Lane:
"It's been an amazing off-season. I don't know what to say. The car was unbelievable today. The Firestones felt like they were ever-lasting."
Palou is the first driver to win the season-opener in back-to-back years since 2017-2018
2026 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Results
1. Alex Palou
2. Scott McLaughlin
3. Christian Lundgaard
4. Kyle Kirkwood
5. Pato O'Ward
6. Marcus Ericsson
7. Josef Newgarden
8. Romain Grosjean
9. Rinus VeeKay
10. Dennis Hauger
And Lundgaard can't get there. It's McLaughlin 2nd and Lundgaard 3rd to round out the podium.
ALEX PALOU WINS THE 2026 GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG
20 CAREER WINS
AND RIGHT BACK TO THE TOP OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
WHITE FLAG: All eyes on Lundgaard vs. McLaughlin in the battle for 2nd.
Two to go.
Palou leads by 14 seconds.
McLaren vs. Penske for P2 while Kirkwood tries not to lose any more positions, but O'Ward is likely to catch him for P4.
Three laps remain.
And here comes the attack! Both McLaughlin and Lundgaard are through!
Palou is simply gone, but McLaughlin is all over Kirkwood now with seven laps to go.
10 laps to go. No change. Palou has 7+ seconds on Kirkwood, but the battle for second is on. McLaughlin and Lundgaard are getting closer to Kirkwood.
This is Alex Palou's world right now and we're just living in it. Unless something drastic changes, no one is catching the Ganassi driver.
20 laps to go. Palou continues to command this field. Kirkwood is trying to chip away, but remains 5.6 seconds adrift.
Kirkwood is six seconds behind Palou. He was about 15s behind when the last pit stop cycle begam
We concur with our man at the track.
Replay of that earlier drama with Ericsson as he aggressively tried to hold off Armstrong:
Newgarden and VeeKay pit, handing the lead back to Palou.
30 laps remain.
Kirkwood worried about the RR after the contact with McLaughlin, but team believes he's okay.
McLaughlin comes out in front of Kirkwood, but Kirkwood attacks! Slight contact as the Andretti driver goes through
And now McLaughlin pits, Lap 69/100. He has softs
Palou pits from the lead with a 14-second gap. He takes hard tires.
McLarens now attacking Ericsson, who finally pits.
OH MY! Ericsson blocks Armstrong massively on the frontstretch, and Armstrong blows Turn 1!
Kirkwood pits from P5 to get out of that mess
Ericsson cannot relax as he has Armstrong and Kirkwood all over him as well.
McLaughlin passes Ericsson for P2 in the run down into Turn 1, Lap 65/100.
Ericsson is really dropping from Palou, now over 10 seconds behind! And McLaughlin has run out of patience, filling his mirrors.
Biggest movers today so far:
Newgarden, +12 from 23rd to 11th
Kirkwood, +10 from 15th to 5th
Rossi, +10 from 25th to 15th
As for the remaining two rookies in the field, Hauger is 8th, just ahead of DCR teammate Grosjean.
Collett has had a quiet race, running P18.
Lap 60/100: Seven seconds between Palou and Ericsson. He continues to gap the entire field, and we've seen this story before.
By: Nick DeGroot
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