Alex Palou sends a three-word message after crushing Josef Newgarden’s hopes in St. Petersburg

The Chip Ganassi racing driver, Alex Palou on Sunday won the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. With two-time champion Josef Newgarden looking to take the victory away from Palou, it was a battle right down to the final lap.

Alex Palou put together an impressive race full of strategy and speed. He won the race by 2.8669 seconds over Scott Dixon who crossed the line second, despite having radio issues the whole race. While Josef Newgarden was hopeful of winning the Grand Prix, his hopes were soon crushed by the Chip Ganassi racing duo.

To celebrate his win, Palou took to his Instagram account and posted a story with the caption 'LFG!!!👊':

Enter caption Alex Palou via Instagram story @alexpalou

Alex Palou qualified in 8th on for the Sunday's race. While Josef Newgarden qualified in 10th place. During the race, Newgarden stayed hopeful of a win as he was catching up with Palou throughout. On Lap 88 is where Newgarden really caught up with Palou, as he slashed down the gap to 2.4 seconds while Palou struggled to get rid of the turbulent air from the car ahead of him.

As this battle progressed, third placed Scott Dixon managed to find his footing and began to close the gap between himself and Newgarden. The battle intensified during the last as both of them tried to go get the second spot. Dixon managed to pass Newgarden at turn 10.

While talking to IndyCar staff writer Paul Kelly, Newgarden expressed how he felt about the race.

“I felt like our car today certainly was capable of winning, just didn’t quite get there for a couple of reasons. Pit cycles, obviously, we needed to go longer, and we had a shift at the end that we didn’t realize, so we kind of had to give up that second place,” Newgarden said.

Last year, Newgarden emerged the winner. However, both him and his teammate were later disqualified due to the wrongful use of push-to-pass button, while Alex Palou finished in 4th position.

Josef Newgarden reacts to an 'incredible' question after Alex Palou's win

INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Source: Getty

The 27 year old Spaniard might have won the season opener at St. Petersburg, but the season is far from over. When asked about how Newgarden plans on challenging Palou for the rest of the season he said :

"I'm sorry, that is an incredible question. It's round one. I know this is your first race here, but it's round one, dude. Let's see how it goes." [via Pit Debrief]"

The third place racer reminded the press how it's just the first round and how not everything is packed and sealed in the first round. During the race, Newgarden was faced with fueling issues and he almost ran out of fuel on the last lap.

When asked the same question Scott Dixon commented :

"Get a radio that works. That would be good."

Palou's teammate faced issues with his radio throughout the race but managed to bring the car home in second place. The second and third place finishers will look forward to challenge during the next round. The Thermal Club Grand Prix is set to take place on March 23.