"Been dreaming about it every single day" - Alex Palou emotional after breaking 138-day winless streak at St. Pete

The reigning IndyCar champion, Alex Palou, started his championship defense at the 2025 Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg with a win in the first race of the season. The CGR driver started the race in P8 as he failed to move into the Fast 6 on Saturday, but with a brilliant strategy and race management, he clinched the win.

Palou started the race of the soft compound alternate tire with those around him opting for a similar strategy. With Will Power and Nolan Siegel crashing on the first lap, the Spaniard took advantage and pitted under the safety car to swap on the harder tire compound.

With no other interventions during the race and the leaders who started on the harder compound having to run the troublesome alternate tires in between stints, the strategy won Alex Palou the race. Colton Herta, the farthest driver who started on the alternate tire and took advantage of the safety car, had a slow second pit stop and then a fuel issue.

Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, and Alex Palou were the lead pack in the final quarter of the race, with Scott McLaughlin falling down the order in P4 as a result of the tire strategy opted for by Team Penske. The Spaniard managed the race well in the final laps against the other two to take the chequered flag in P1.

As Palou came into the pits and got out of the car to celebrate, FOX reporter Jamie Little questioned the CGR driver about starting the 2025 campaign with a victory. Alex Palou replied:

“It's been 138 days since last win and I've been dreaming about it every single day.”

“What does it mean winning first race of 2025?” asked Jamie Little.

"It's huge, it's huge. I'm super happy. Honestly, we've been working really hard. It's been a place in the past where we struggled a lot. So to start with a win in 2025 is amazing,” responded the CGR driver.

Josef Newgarden really piled the pressure on Palou in the final 10 laps, but the Spaniard dealt with it like a champion.

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Alex Palou's race management against Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon won him the 2025 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Scott Dixon was the first driver to react and pit for the final stop. The CGR driver faced some traffic on his outlap, and Alex Palou took advantage of it and came out just a few tenths ahead of his teammate.

Josef Newgarden was the last to react and came out behind Dixon and Palou. However, the Team Penske driver dive-bombed Dixon to take P2 away with the final 20 laps. All this fighting between the two allowed Palou to pull out a 5-second lead.

Palou caught up to Sting Ray Robb, which allowed Newgarden and Dixon to catch up to him. As all three made their way past the backmarker, the Spaniard stayed composed, not allowing Newgarden even a sniff for an overtake.

All this pushing left Newgarden's No.2 Team Penske running on fumes, allowing Scott Dixon the opportunity to pass him on the final lap, making it a 1-2 for Chip Ganassi Racing.