"We didn't get it done": Scott Dixon expresses discontent on finishing second at St. Petersburg GP

Six-time IndyCar championship winner Scott Dixon finished runner-up to his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Alex Palou in the 2025 season-opening race at St. Petersburg. While it wasn't an objectively bad result, for Dixon however, it was a disappointing finish to a race weekend, as he felt he could have easily won the race if not for the loss of radio communication with his team.

In his 21 career starts at the St. Petersburg street circuit, Scott Dixon has never stood on the top step of the podium. However, it was his fifth runner-up result on the 1.8-mile racetrack.

Dixon lost all radio communication with his team on lap 10 out of 100 and had to drive the entirety of the race without any help from his team. The 44-year-old said it was the first time in his 25-year-long career that he had to drive almost a full race without the in-car radio.

The crucial moment of the race came for Dixon when he had to decide which lap he needed to pit for his second and final stop. With no communications with the team, he had to wait till his car almost ran out of fuel. That turned out to be one lap too late as his teammate Alex Palou had pitted a lap earlier.

When Dixon came out of the pit stop, he got stuck in a five or six car traffic that cost him crucial seconds to his teammate.

Speaking at the media conference after the race, Dixon was understandably displeased with the second place result and noted:

"Ah, yeah. I am pretty pissed off, man. I think we had a good race. We had a good race going and, you know, we didn't get it done so it doesn't feel good, that's for sure."

"You have a fuel light so you can run — you know when the car is going to run out. I didn’t know if they could hear me, so I was just telling them I’m just going to run to the light and see what happens. Ultimately I think for me, it was just one lap too long," he added (via MotorsportWeek).

Team boss Chip Ganassi later backed Dixon's argument, claiming that the latter would easily have won the race if his radio was working properly.

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Scott Dixon still only cares about winning races: "The fire still burns very strong"

AUTO: Scott Dixon (Left), Alex Palou (Middle), and Josef Newgarden (Right) MAR 02 INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Source: Getty

With 24 IndyCar seasons under his belt and more victories than any other active driver in the Series (58), Scott Dixon is still only motivated to winning races and not extending his records. Despite being in the twilight of his racing career, the 44-year-old has proven that age is just a number when it comes to racing. He has won seven races in the last two seasons combined and finished runner up in the standings in 2023, followed by a sixth place finish in the 2024 standings.

Speaking with Archie O'Reilly from Divebomb Motorsport during the season break, Scott Dixon mentioned that the only thing he is motivated by is winning races every single weekend.

"I just want to win. I don't really look back. I just look forward to the next race, starting a new season for me. The fire still burns very strong, and honestly, all I'm focused on is winning (any) weekend. I think a lot of the times I've mentioned, once you leave the sport, hopefully, you're happy with what you've achieved along the way. But yeah, I just care about (any) weekend," Dixon said (via Athlon Sports).

Scott Dixon will be back for more IndyCar racing action on Sunday, March 23, at The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix.