2022 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

2022 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Race details
1st round of the 2022 IndyCar season
	Layout of the Streets of St. Petersburg
Date	February 27, 2022
Official name	Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Location	Streets of St. Petersburg
Course	Temporary street circuit; 1.800 mi / 2.897 km
Distance	100 laps; 180.000 mi / 289.682 km
Pole position
Driver	Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske)
Time	00:59.4821
Fastest lap
Driver	Conor Daly (Ed Carpenter Racing)
Time	01:00.9868 (on lap 53 of 100)
Podium
First	Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske)
Second	Álex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Third	Will Power (Team Penske)

The 2022 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was an IndyCar motor race held on February 27, 2022 at the Streets of St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was the season opener of the 2022 IndyCar Series. The race lasted for 100 laps.

Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske scored his first pole in qualifying and claimed his first race victory in the series over Álex Palou, after leading the most laps in the race. Will Power, McLaughlin's teammate, finished third to complete the podium.

Background

In September 2021, it was announced that St. Petersburg, Florida would host the first race of the 2022 season on February 27, 2022. This marked the first February start for the IndyCar series since the 2004 season and the earliest the season has started since 2003 (at the same circuit).^[1]

Colton Herta was the defending race winner, having won the previous Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in 2021.^[2]

Entrants

26 drivers entered the race, with six of them classified as rookies for the 2022 season. Four rookies made their IndyCar race debut, two of them for A. J. Foyt Enterprises: Kyle Kirkwood made his debut with the team after winning the 2021 Indy Lights championship,^[3] alongside former Super Formula and WEC driver Tatiana Calderón, who secured her seat after impressing the team after a test with the team in 2021.^[4] 2021 Indy Lights runner-up David Malukas debuted for Dale Coyne Racing, while Canadian driver Devlin DeFrancesco, who had finished sixth in the 2021 Indy Lights championship, debuted for Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport.

Key	Meaning
R	Rookie
W	Past winner

	Driver	Team	Engine
2	Josef Newgarden W	Team Penske	Chevrolet
3	Scott McLaughlin	Team Penske	Chevrolet
4	Dalton Kellett	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet
5	Patricio O'Ward	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet
06	Hélio Castroneves W	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda
7	Felix Rosenqvist	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet
8	Marcus Ericsson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
10	Álex Palou	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
11	Tatiana Calderón R	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet
12	Will Power W	Team Penske	Chevrolet
14	Kyle Kirkwood R	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet
15	Graham Rahal W	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
18	David Malukas R	Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports	Honda
20	Conor Daly	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
21	Rinus VeeKay	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
26	Colton Herta W	Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian	Honda
27	Alexander Rossi	Andretti Autosport	Honda
28	Romain Grosjean	Andretti Autosport	Honda
29	Devlin DeFrancesco R	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	Honda
30	Christian Lundgaard R	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
45	Jack Harvey	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
48	Jimmie Johnson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
51	Takuma Sato	Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing	Honda
60	Simon Pagenaud	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda
77	Callum Ilott R	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevrolet
Source:^[5]

Practice

Practice 1

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Lap Time
1	28	Romain Grosjean	Andretti Autosport	Honda	1:01:0525
2	26	Colton Herta W	Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian	Honda	1:01:1567
3	12	Will Power W	Team Penske	Chevrolet	1:01:2282
Source:^[6]

Practice 2

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Lap Time
1	3	Scott McLaughlin	Team Penske	Chevrolet	00:59.7342
2	26	Colton Herta	Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian	Honda	01:00.0851
3	60	Simon Pagenaud	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda	01:00.0853
Source:^[7]

Qualifying

Qualifying classification

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Time				Final grid
					Round 1		Round 2	Round 3
					Group 1	Group 2	Round 2	Round 3
1	3	Scott McLaughlin	Team Penske	Chevrolet	N/A	00:59.5846	00:59.5157	00:59.4821	1
2	12	Will Power W	Team Penske	Chevrolet	N/A	00:59.3929	00:59.3466	00:59.6058	2
3	26	Colton Herta W	Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian	Honda	00:59.4662	N/A	00:59.4051	00:59.7104	3
4	21	Rinus VeeKay	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	00:59.8046	N/A	00:59.6232	00:59.8102	4
5	28	Romain Grosjean	Andretti Autosport	Honda	N/A	00:59.6267	00:59.5559	00:59.8116	5
6	60	Simon Pagenaud	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda	N/A	00:59.7039	00:59.5881	01:00.2041	6
7	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	00:59.8106	N/A	00:59.7579	N/A	7
8	8	Marcus Ericsson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	N/A	00:59.8815	00:59.8241	N/A	8
9	2	Josef Newgarden W	Team Penske	Chevrolet	00:59.9148	N/A	00:59.8862	N/A	9
10	10	Álex Palou	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	N/A	00:59.8956	00:59.9584	N/A	10
11	15	Graham Rahal W	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	00:59.7760	N/A	00:59.9870	N/A	11
12	14	Kyle Kirkwood R	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	00:59.8534	N/A	01:00.2616	N/A	12
13	27	Alexander Rossi	Andretti Autosport	Honda	00:59.9931	N/A	N/A	N/A	13
14	4	Dalton Kellett	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	N/A	00:59.9521	N/A	N/A	14
15	30	Christian Lundgaard R	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	01:00.0276	N/A	N/A	N/A	15
16	5	Pato O'Ward	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet	N/A	01:00.0021	N/A	N/A	16
17	06	Hélio Castroneves W	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda	01:00.1426	N/A	N/A	N/A	17
18	29	Devlin DeFrancesco R	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	Honda	N/A	01:00.0850	N/A	N/A	18
19	77	Callum Ilott R	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevrolet	01:00.2121	N/A	N/A	N/A	19
20	20	Conor Daly	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	N/A	01:00.1921	N/A	N/A	20
21	7	Felix Rosenqvist	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet	01:00.3918	N/A	N/A	N/A	21
22	51	Takuma Sato	Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing	Honda	N/A	01:00.2930	N/A	N/A	22
23	45	Jack Harvey	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	01:00.5333	N/A	N/A	N/A	22
24	18	David Malukas R	Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports	Honda	N/A	01:00.4601	N/A	N/A	24
25	11	Tatiana Calderón R	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	01:00.9391	N/A	N/A	N/A	25
26	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	N/A	01:01.0273	N/A	N/A	26
Source:^[8]

Notes

Bold text indicates fastest time set in session.

Warmup

Top Warmup Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Lap Time
1	26	Colton Herta W	Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian	Honda	01:00.3283
2	2	Josef Newgarden W	Team Penske	Chevrolet	01:00.5971
3	10	Álex Palou	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	01:00.8311
Source:^[9]

Race

The race started at 12:00 PM ET on February 27, 2022.

Race classification

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Laps	Time/Retired	Pit Stops	Grid	Laps Led	Pts.
1	3	Scott McLaughlin	Team Penske	Chevrolet	100	1:51:27.3466	2	1	49	54
2	10	Álex Palou	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	100	+0.5095	2	10	1	41
3	12	Will Power W	Team Penske	Chevrolet	100	+2.4671	2	2	1	36
4	26	Colton Herta W	Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian	Honda	100	+15.8442	2	3		32
5	28	Romain Grosjean	Andretti Autosport	Honda	100	+18.4525	2	5		30
6	21	Rinus VeeKay	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	100	+20.6514	2	4	13	29
7	15	Graham Rahal W	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	100	+21.4181	2	11		26
8	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	100	+22.0277	3	7	26	25
9	8	Marcus Ericsson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	100	+22.3674	2	8		22
10	51	Takuma Sato	Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing	Honda	100	+23.2743	2	22		20
11	30	Christian Lundgaard R	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	100	+24.4244	2	15		19
12	5	Pato O'Ward	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet	100	+26.2750	3	16		18
13	45	Jack Harvey	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	100	+31.6687	3	23		17
14	06	Hélio Castroneves W	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda	100	+33.5985	3	17		16
15	60	Simon Pagenaud	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda	100	+34.2147	3	6		15
16	2	Josef Newgarden W	Team Penske	Chevrolet	100	+36.2603	3	9		14
17	7	Felix Rosenqvist	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet	100	+39.0361	3	21		13
18	14	Kyle Kirkwood R	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	100	+58.1240	3	12		12
19	77	Callum Ilott R	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevrolet	100	+58.7223	3	19		11
20	27	Alexander Rossi	Andretti Autosport	Honda	100	+59.1634	2	13	10	11
21	20	Conor Daly	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	100	+1:00.1358	3	20		9
22	29	Devlin DeFrancesco R	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	Honda	100	+1:02.8613	3	18		8
23	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	99	+1 Lap	2	26		7
24	11	Tatiana Calderón R	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	97	+3 Laps	4	25		6
25	4	Dalton Kellett	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	62	Gearbox	3	14		5
26	18	David Malukas R	Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports	Honda	23	Accident	1	24		5
Fastest lap: Conor Daly (Ed Carpenter Racing)– 01:00.9868 (lap 53)
Source:^[10]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos.	Driver	Points
	1	Scott McLaughlin	54
	2	Álex Palou	41
	3	Will Power	36
	4	Colton Herta	32
	5	Romain Grosjean	30
Source:^[10]

Engine manufacturer standings

	Pos.	Manufacturer	Points
	1	Chevrolet	91
	2	Honda	72
Source:^[11]

Note: Only the top five positions are included.

References

^ "NTT INDYCAR SERIES Announces 17-Race 2022 Schedule". IndyCar.com. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
^ Ryan, Nate (2021-04-25). "Colton Herta beats Newgarden to win IndyCar St. Petersburg - NBC Sports". MotorSportsTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
^ "Foyt signs Indy Lights champ Kirkwood full-time for 2022". www.motorsport.com. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
^ "'Others should learn from IndyCar' - Calderon on debut test". The Race. 2021-07-07. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
^ "Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Entry List" (PDF). motorsports.nbcsports.com. February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
^ "Practice - Results" (PDF). indycar.com. February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
^ "Practice - Results" (PDF). indycar.com. February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
^ "Qualifications - Results (Road Course Elimination)" (PDF). indycar.com. February 26, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
^ "Practice - Results" (PDF). indycar.com. February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Race - Results (11inch) - Final" (PDF). indycar.com. February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
^ "Points - Indycar Engine" (PDF). motorsports.nbcsports.com. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.