Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou won the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg on March 2nd. On Saturday, Palou qualified in 8th place for the main event. The celebrations continued even a week later as the parties shared a team picture via Instagram.
Alex Palou crafted together an amazing race despite the chaos at the beginning. Palou won over his teammate Scott Dixon by 2.8869 seconds. The two-time series champion, Josef Newgarden, settled for 3rd place after a battle with the Chip Ganassi Racing duo.
Continuing with the celebrations from last week, Palou took to his Instagram account and posted a story with the caption 'What an awesome team 👏':
The post that Alex Palou reshared was originally made by Chip Ganassi Racing. They shared a team photo along with the trophies and the winning car on their Instagram account, with a caption that read:
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'One week ago, we were in Victory Lane at St. Pete 😎 #OneTeam, One Goal!'
Alex Palou took the lead of the race from Felix Rosenqvist on lap 75, and it was a battle to cross the chequered flag from there on. The Spaniard had to hold off Josef Newgarden, who was looking to take the win away from Palou and had slashed the gap down to 2.4 seconds. Newgarden backed off due to fuel issues.
After the race, while talking to Indycar staff writer Paul Kelly, Palou praised the team for their efforts to make the win happen. (Via Indycar.com)
“What an amazing job by everybody. They gave me everything we needed this weekend to win. I told you yesterday we had a really, really fast car. Our strategy changed a lot during that first yellow, but I’m so glad we got that No. 10 in Victory Lane. It’s been 138 days since Nashville (2024 season finale), and I’ve been dreaming about this every single night,” Palou said.
In addition to beginning his championship run, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg marked Palou's 12th career win. With Scott Dixon claiming second spot, the Chip Ganassi Racing team achieved their first 1-2 of the season and their first double podium since 2023 in Mid-Ohio.
Alex Palou talks about his battle with Sting Ray Robb at St. Petersburg
Alex Palou finished the St. Petersburg Grand Prix in 1st place, but that almost didn't happen. Palou was being hunted down by a very hungry Josef Newgarden in his #2 Penske car. Palou was stuck in Sting Ray Robb's turbulent air that helped Newgarden to catch up to Palou quite quickly.
While talking to Conor Daly on his Speed Street podcast, Palou explained how he felt during those moments.
"Look, I understand that he was not doing anything that was wrong. I actually was calmer than I thought I would be. Like there's been some races where I'm like 'just get that car out of the way or I'll jump out and start punching this guy in front of me right now. It was not like that. I was like, 'Okay Alex. He's doing his job, it's fine.' But I saw the gap going from 5 seconds to 0.9, and I was like, 'Dude, I need to pass Sting Ray right now'." Palou said. (51:51 onwards)
Alex Palou was able to pass Sting Ray Robb and keep his position safe from Newgarden, who then had to settle for a third-place finish.
