The 2025 IndyCar season got underway on Sunday afternoon on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, opening up a new era of top-level American open-wheel racing on Fox.
There were plenty of storylines from a race that ran caution-free, aside from an opening lap incident. But the 100 laps of Sunday's Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile (2.897-kilometer) street circuit are the only laps on the schedule for the next three weeks.
IndyCar's traditionally long wait from race number one to race number two was shortened from four weeks to three ahead of its second Thermal Club visit, but it's still a long time to wait after all the hype and build-up ahead of the season opener.
Here are five overreactions – and five that might not be – from race number one of the 2025 season.
Ganassi vs. Penske, part XIII (in a row)
For the 13th straight season, an IndyCar championship is set to be won by either Chip Ganassi Racing or Team Penske. The highest non-Ganassi/Penske finisher in the season opener was Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood in fifth place.
One race into a 17-race season, this is probably the most non-overreaction one can make.
It was a Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou and Scott Dixon scoring a 1-2 finish for the team, with Team Penske's Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin finishing in third and fourth place, respectively.
Most notably, McLaughlin was able to recover to fourth despite not being on the preferred tire strategy of the top three, illustrating the huge disparity between them and the rest. The top of the finishing order was very Formula 1-esque, to say the least.