IndyCar 2025: Qualifying groups and order for St. Petersburg race

Modified Mar 01, 2025 22:46 IST

INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Day 1 - Source: Getty

IndyCar is set up for an enthralling first qualifying session of the year for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The checkered flag has been waved on the second practice session of the weekend, with Marcus Ericsson emerging as the quickest driver around the 1.8-mile street circuit with a time of 1:00.5151.

This is a promising turnaround for the Andretti Global driver who severely struggled in 2024 and finished a low 15th-place in the standings in his first year with the team. His teammates Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta found themselves quite distant, with a P9 and a P20 result.

Dale Coyne Racing's Rinus Veekay went second-fastest with a time of 1:00.6181 on the alternate tires. Defending IndyCar champion Alex Palou rounded up the Top 3 - all Honda drivers. His Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Kyffin Simpson finished in the bottom half, securing P17 and P22.

Team Penske, who topped IndyCar's Sebring preseason test and had all three drivers in the Top 10 in practice one, finished out of the Top 10, with Josef Newgarden in 14th, Scott McLaughlin in 18th, and Will Power in 24th. As for Arrow McLaren, Nolan Siegel was quickest with a lap time good enough for P4, while teammates Christian Lundgaard and Pato O'Ward slotted in P6 and P8 respectively.

Conor Daly and Sting Ray Robb showed up in style for Juncos Hollinger Racing, securing P5 and P7 respectively. For Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, there was a considerable difference in timings for its experienced driver Graham Rahal, who won his first career race at the St. Petersburg circuit, in P12, while Devlin DeFrancesco and rookie Louis Foster finished in P15 and P21.

Meyer Shank Racing drivers Marcus Armstrong and Felix Rosenqvist sandwiched Graham Rahal on the timesheets, with a P11 and P13. AJ Foyt Racing showed respectable pace, with newbie David Malukas high-up in P10 and self-proclaimed championship contender Santino Ferrucci in P16.

Dale Coyne Racing's rookie Jacob Abel finished second-last in P26, in sharp contrast to teammate Rinus Veekay's P2. Ed Carpenter Racing lacked enough pace in its Chevrolet-powered cars, with 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi in P19 and Christian Rasmussen in P25.

Both drivers of IndyCar's newest team, PREMA Racing, were in the bottom five. Callum Ilott in P23 and Robert Shwartzman dead last in P27.

The qualifying groups for IndyCar's 2025 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

The 27 drivers will be divided into two groups for the qualifying session at 2:30 pm ET. The drivers who finished in odd positions i.e. P1, P3, P5, and so on, will go into Group 2, while the drivers in even positions i.e. P2, P4, P6, and so on, will become part of Group 1. So here's what the final qualifying groups for the St. Petersburg IndyCar race look like: