IndyCar: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg results
By Asher Fair
The 2018 IndyCar season got underway with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. How did things turn our in the first race of the year?
The 2018 IndyCar season opened up in chaotic fashion with the first race of the new universal aero kit era, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the Streets of St. Petersburg. At the end of the race, it was Sebastien Bourdais taking the checkered flag under caution in his #18 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing for the second consecutive season.
The 110-lap race around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit featured a total of eight caution flag periods for 25 laps.
The first caution flag of the race came out on lap 3 for Charlie Kimball going off course in turn 13. The second caution flag of the race came out on lap 7 for Spencer Pigot going off course in turn 1. The third caution flag of the race came out on lap 28 for Matheus Leist crashing in turn 4. The fourth caution flag of the race came out on lap 35 when Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal made contact in turn 1.
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The fifth caution flag of the race came out on lap 40 when Jack Harvey went off course in turn 13. The sixth caution flag of the race came out on lap 102 when Rene Binder hit the tire barrier in turn 10. The seventh caution flag of the race came out on lap 7 when Max Chilton stalled in turn 8 before the eighth and final caution flag of the race came out on lap 109 for contact between Robert Wickens and Alexander Rossi in turn 1.
The race also featured a total of 11 lead changes among five different leaders. The race was dominated by polesitter Robert Wickens in his #6 Honda for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.
Wickens led a race-high 69 of the race’s 110 laps. Bourdais, Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Jordan King also led laps throughout the race.
On the final restart of the race with two laps to go, Wickens led the field to the green flag with Rossi close behind him. Rossi went to pass him into turn 1 but slid into him and hit him, taking him out of the race.
Here is a video of the finish of the race.
Bourdais capitalized on this accident and took the lead before the final caution flag of the race came out, and he went on to win the race under caution as a result of it. The win is his first victory since he won at St. Petersburg last season and it is the 37th victory of his career.
Honda drivers held each of the top 8 positions heading into the final restart. They ended up sweeping the top 6 positions in what was a dominant performance from start to finish. The highest finishing Chevrolet driver was Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden in 7th place, and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Jordan King was the only Chevrolet driver to lead the race at any point.
Here are the full results from the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Engine |
| 1 | Sebastien Bourdais | #18, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda |
| 2 | Graham Rahal | #15, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda |
| 3 | Alexander Rossi | #27, Andretti Autosport, Honda |
| 4 | James Hinchcliffe | #5, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda |
| 5 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | #28, Andretti Autosport, Honda |
| 6 | Scott Dixon | #9, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda |
| 7 | Josef Newgarden | #1, Team Penske, Chevrolet |
| 8 | Ed Jones | #10, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda |
| 9 | Marco Andretti | #98, Andretti Herta Autosport, Honda |
| 10 | Will Power | #12, Team Penske, Chevrolet |
| 11 | Tony Kanaan | #14, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet |
| 12 | Takuma Sato | #30, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda |
| 13 | Simon Pagenaud | #22, Team Penske, Chevrolet |
| 14 | Gabby Chaves | #88, Harding Racing, Chevrolet |
| 15 | Spencer Pigot | #21, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet |
| 16 | Zach Veach | #26, Andretti Autosport, Honda |
| 17 | Zachary Claman DeMelo | #19, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda |
| 18 | Robert Wickens | #6, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda |
| 19 | Max Chilton | #59, Carlin Motorsport, Chevrolet |
| 20 | Charlie Kimball | #23, Carlin Motorsport, Chevrolet |
| 21 | Jordan King | #20, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet |
| 22 | Rene Binder | #32, Juncos Racing, Chevrolet |
| 23 | Jack Harvey | #60, Michael Shank Racing, Honda |
| 24 | Matheus Leist | #4, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet |
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The next IndyCar race is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 7th. That race is the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix at ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, and it is the first race on an oval track of the 2018 season. Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 9:00 pm ET on that day to watch it live.