2025 Thermal Club GP: Full results from today's IndyCar race

Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou took the win at the 2025 Indycar Thermal Club GP after starting from P3. The Spaniard made the crucial moves in the final third of the race to snatch the victory away from Pato O'Ward and extended his championship lead in the IndyCar standings.

The Arrow McLaren duo of O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard finished P2 and P3 respectively with Colton Herta and Felix Rosenqvist rounding up the top five. Will Power started P21 and finished P6, and was the standout performer apart from Palou.

AUTO: MAR 02 INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Source: Getty

The 2025 IndyCar race at Thermal Club was the first time the drivers took to the track for a championship race. The race was 65 laps long, held on the 3.067-mile track that consisted of 17 turns.

Pato O'Ward took the pole position at the Thermal Club qualifying and started the race in P1. His teammate Christian Lundgaard qualified for P2 making it a McLaren front row lockout.

Alex Palou, who looked strong throughout the weekend wasn't able to deliver in Fast 6 and started in P3. All three Team Penske cars got eliminated in the first round and started outside the Top 12.

2025 Thermal Club IndyCar Race Highlights

Devlin DeFrancesco ran into Scott McLaughlin on the warmup lap and spun the Team Penske around. However, McLaughlin's car didn't sustain any damage and DeFrancesco was given a drive-through penalty.

Pato O'Ward and Christian Lundgaard got a great start and remained 1-2 with Alex Palou in P3. The Mexican, who started on the alternate tire was able to stretch out his lead to over five seconds by Lap 6 while Palou closely followed his teammate.

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

The #10 CGR was able to pass Lundgaard's Arrow McLaren on lap 9. The #7 Chevrolet pitted on the very next lap onto new soft compound alternate tires. Callum Ilott had a slow pitstop when he pitted on Lap 12 as the rear left tire didn't fit properly.

Colton Herta pitted from P3 on Lap 15 to replace the used primary tires with new primaries. Alex Palou pitted from P2 on the very next lap to minimize Herta’s undercut advantage.

Marcus Ericsson spun on Lap 16 as he went wide on the exit of the corner and kicked up dirt onto the track. Race leader Pato O'Ward pitted on Lap 17 and fitted new primary tires, with Christian Lundgaard’s undercut working as the Mexican came out only three seconds ahead of his teammate.

Scott McLaughlin pitted on Lap 20 as the #3 Team Penske faced a hybrid system issue. The Kiwi driver joined the race six laps behind the leader. Will Power overtook Nolan Siegel on Lap 22 on the back straight to get up into P12 and then passed Santino Ferrucci in P11 on the very next lap.

A signal loss at the track on Lap 28 led to a blackout of the stream and broadcast internationally. The stream came back on Lap 35 but the audio and graphics were still out.

With 15 laps to go, Alex Palou passed Christian Lundgaard for P2 with Pato O'Ward being around eight seconds ahead. In just five laps, the Spaniard closed down the gap to less than a second and passed the Arrow McLaren driver with 10 laps to go.

The #10 CGR driver then carved out a massive lead of 10+ seconds and took the win. O'Ward finished P2 and teammate Lundgaard rounded the podium.

Will Power was the biggest move as he started P21 and finished just outside the Top 5 in P6, gaining 15 positions over the race distance.

Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou wins the 2025 IndyCar Thermal Club IndyCar Race

Alex Palou had a huge task ahead of him, to beat the McLaren duo if he wanted to win the Thermal Club GP. The Spaniard looked the fastest driver throughout the weekend except for the Fast 6 qualifying session. However, the CGR driver put his pace to good use. He was in P3 for the first 40 laps of the race but then started to make the move after the final pit stops.

While the Arrow McLaren drivers struggled on the primary tires, Palou made them come alive in the final stint as he overtook Lundgaard and then O'Ward, before carving out a 10-second lead to win the race.

Speaking with FOX after stepping out of the car, the three-time IndyCar champion said:

“Thank you all the fans. I heard that there was some issues with the broadcast. So sorry to all the fans and thank you for sticking with us. But what an amazing weekend. We had a really fast car since practice, and they executed very well.”

“Everybody at GGR the #10 car executed perfectly. We knew it was aggressive to start with the used reds, and we knew that we were looking toward the end of the race with that tank car. And yeah, we did it. So back-to-back wins, feel awesome.”

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