Colton Herta's dad shares frank stance on Alex Palou continuing IndyCar domination with St. Pete victory

Colton Herta had a subpar outing at IndyCar's first race of 2025. Pit stop trouble for his No. 26 Andretti Global team meant he finished P16. In contrast, defending champ Alex Palou put up a statement drive at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg to emerge victorious. Colton's dad, Bryan Herta, who saw his son's race go the dumps from the pit wall, has shared his feelings about Palou stamping his authority from the word go.

Palou's track record on the streets of St. Pete wasn't strong until last weekend. He admitted how Chip Ganassi Racing "always struggled" at the circuit. That held true on the qualifying day as the three-time champ couldn't make the Fast 6, and secured P8 on the grid.

In the race, he had his work cut out, and his No. 10 team delivered with the strategy and pit stops. After pit stop number three, he came ahead of Josef Newgarden and defended the lead to take the winner's trophy home.

Colton Herta, as luck would have it, went from victory contention to finish P16. His father, Bryan, who serves as the race strategist for Andretti's second driver, Kyle Kirkwood, opened up about Alex Palou's win.

"He's a tough competitor. He doesn't have a lot of weakness in his game, he drives for a really good team, and you put those things together, they are going to be hard to beat. They have been (hard to beat) the last several years and they will be again this year," Bryan said on the Pit Pass Indy podcast [22:12 onwards].

Bryan Herta owned his IndyCar team, Bryan Herta Autosport, which merged with Andretti Autosport (now Andretti Global) in 2016.

Group 1001 CEO Dan Towriss now owns the team after CEO and chairman Michael Andretti gave up ownership in September 2024.

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Colton Herta asks his No. 26 Andretti Global team to "remember this feeling" after bitter St. Pete result

NTT IndyCar Series PPG 375 - Practice - Qualifying - Source: Getty

Colton Herta came into the 2025 IndyCar season opener with winning momentum, having won the last race of 2024 at Nashville. On lap 36, when he made his second pit stop, the right rear tire changer had a nightmare. The new tire got stuck in an odd position and it required several maneuvers before it slotted in place.

This cost Herta precious seconds and forced him down in the pecking order. There was no recovery after that. After crossing the finish line in P16, the 24-year-old sent an emotional message to his crew on the team radio.

"Remember this feeling. It sucks. I don't want to feel like this ever again. And I know you guys don't too. I got your back though, as long as you got mine," he said.

Colton Herta, who is a top contender for a Cadillac F1 seat in 2026, will go into the second IndyCar race of 2025 with redemption on his mind. The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix race weekend will take place from March 21 to 23.