2022 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

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.

United States 2022 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Race details
1st round of the 2022 IndyCar season
DateFebruary 27, 2022
Official nameFirestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
LocationStreets of St. Petersburg
CourseTemporary street circuit
1.800 mi / 2.897 km
Distance100 laps
180.000 mi / 289.682 km
Pole position
DriverNew Zealand Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske)
Time00:59.4821
Fastest lap
DriverUnited States Conor Daly (Ed Carpenter Racing)
Time01:00.9868 (on lap 53 of 100)
Podium
FirstNew Zealand Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske)
SecondSpain Álex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing)
ThirdAustralia Will Power (Team Penske)

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

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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

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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

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Practice 1

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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

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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

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Qualifying classification

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Pos No. Driver Team Engine Time Final
grid
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
Group 1 Group 2
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

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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

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

Race classification

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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

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included.

References

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