# 2023 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

The 2023 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first round of the 2023 IndyCar season. The race was held on March 5, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Florida on the Streets of St. Petersburg. The race consisted of 100 laps and was won by Marcus Ericsson.

## Entry list

| Key | Meaning |
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |
| No. | Driver | Team | Engine |
| 2 | Josef Newgarden W | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 3 | Scott McLaughlin W | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 5 | Patricio O'Ward | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 06 | Hélio Castroneves W | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda |
| 6 | Felix Rosenqvist | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Alexander Rossi | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 10 | Álex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 11 | Marcus Armstrong R | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 12 | Will Power W | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Santino Ferrucci | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet |
| 15 | Graham Rahal W | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda |
| 18 | David Malukas | 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 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Autosport | Honda |
| 28 | Romain Grosjean | Andretti Autosport | Honda |
| 29 | Devlin DeFrancesco | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda |
| 30 | Jack Harvey | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda |
| 45 | Christian Lundgaard | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda |
| 51 | Sting Ray Robb R | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Honda |
| 55 | Benjamin Pedersen R | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet |
| 60 | Simon Pagenaud | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda |
| 77 | Callum Ilott | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Chevrolet |
| 78 | Agustín Canapino R | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Chevrolet |
| Source: ||||

## Qualifying
### Qualifying classification

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Time | Time | Time | Time | Final grid |
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Final grid |
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Group 1 | Group 2 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Final grid |
| 1 | 28 | Romain Grosjean | Andretti Autosport | Honda | N/A | 00:59.8790 | 00:59.7320 | 00:59.5532 | 1 |
| 2 | 26 | Colton Herta W | Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian | Honda | N/A | 00:59.8220 | 00:59.5442 | 00:59.9687 | 2 |
| 3 | 5 | Pato O'Ward | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet | 01:00.1146 | N/A | 00:59.7367 | 01:00.0163 | 3 |
| 4 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:00.2018 | N/A | 00:59.7624 | 01:00.4435 | 4 |
| 5 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 01:00.1201 | N/A | 00:59.7686 | No Time | 5 |
| 6 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 01:00.0451 | N/A | 00:59.6357 | No Time | 6 |
| 7 | 10 | Álex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | N/A | 00:59.8879 | 00:59.7781 | N/A | 7 |
| 8 | 6 | Felix Rosenqvist | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet | 00:59.9396 | N/A | 00:59.7971 | N/A | 8 |
| 9 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | N/A | 00:59.8213 | 00:59.8010 | N/A | 9 |
| 10 | 12 | Will Power W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:00.0211 | 00:59.9482 | N/A | 10 |
| 11 | 45 | Christian Lundgaard | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 01:00.0121 | N/A | 00:59.9618 | N/A | 11 |
| 12 | 7 | Alexander Rossi | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet | N/A | 00:59.9527 | 01:00.0040 | N/A | 12 |
| 13 | 11 | Marcus Armstrong R | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 01:00.3158 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 13 |
| 14 | 2 | Josef Newgarden W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:00.0605 | N/A | N/A | 14 |
| 15 | 06 | Hélio Castroneves W | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 01:00.5049 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 15 |
| 16 | 18 | David Malukas | Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports | Honda | N/A | 01:00.0796 | N/A | N/A | 16 |
| 17 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 01:00.5301 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 17 |
| 18 | 29 | Devlin DeFrancesco | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda | N/A | 01:00.1798 | N/A | N/A | 18 |
| 19 | 30 | Jack Harvey | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 01:00.7270 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 19 |
| 20 | 15 | Graham Rahal W | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | N/A | 01:00.3714 | N/A | N/A | 20 |
| 21 | 78 | Agustín Canapino R | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Chevrolet | 01:01.0692 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 21 |
| 22 | 77 | Callum Ilott | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:00.3868 | N/A | N/A | 22 |
| 23 | 51 | Sting Ray Robb R | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Honda | 01:02.3711 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 23 |
| 24 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:00.4831 | N/A | N/A | 24 |
| 25 | 60 | Simon Pagenaud | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 06:37.4112 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 25 |
| 26 | 20 | Conor Daly | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:00.6066 | N/A | N/A | 26 |
| 27 | 55 | Benjamin Pedersen R | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | N/A | 01:01.4355 | N/A | N/A | 27 |
| Source: ||||||||||

#### Notes

* Bold text indicates fastest time set in session.

## Race

The race started at 12:30 PM ET on March 5, 2023. Romain Grosjean took pole position, the second pole of his IndyCar career, ahead of Andretti teammate Colton Herta. Grosjean led away from the start however the race was red flagged due to an incident involving Devlin DeFrancesco, who was launched into the air following contact with rookie Benjamin Pedersen. Grosjean would lead 31 laps, but retired on lap 71 following an incident with defending St. Petersburg race winner Scott McLaughlin. McLaughlin, who had just exited the pits in the lead of the race, attempted to defend against the charging Grosjean into turn 4, locking his cold rear tires. As a result, McLaughlin missed the apex of the corner and collided into Grosjean, sending them both into the tire barrier and ending Grosjean's race. Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward would take over the lead of the race, however his engine briefly shut off exiting turn 14 due to a 'plenum backfire' allowing Chip Ganassi Racing's Marcus Ericsson through into the lead. Ericsson would hold onto the lead to take his 4th IndyCar victory, and his first since the 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500. O'Ward would finish 2nd, with Ericsson's teammate Scott Dixon finishing 3rd, ahead of Alexander Rossi and Callum Ilott, the latter scoring his career best IndyCar finish. Ganassi's Marcus Armstrong was the highest-finishing rookie in 11th, just ahead of Argentine newcomer Agustín Canapino for Juncos Hollinger Racing.

### Race classification

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Laps | Time/Retired | Pit Stops | Grid | Laps Led | Pts. |
| 1 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 100 | 2:05:30.7907 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 51 |
| 2 | 5 | Pato O'Ward | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet | 100 | +2.4113 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 41 |
| 3 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 100 | +2.9257 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 36 |
| 4 | 7 | Alexander Rossi | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet | 100 | +6.7689 | 3 | 12 | | 32 |
| 5 | 77 | Callum Ilott | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Chevrolet | 100 | +8.2650 | 3 | 22 | | 30 |
| 6 | 15 | Graham Rahal W | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 100 | +10.7671 | 3 | 20 | | 28 |
| 7 | 12 | Will Power W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 100 | +11.6798 | 3 | 10 | | 26 |
| 8 | 10 | Álex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 100 | +14.7244 | 3 | 7 | | 24 |
| 9 | 45 | Christian Lundgaard | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 100 | +14.9528 | 3 | 11 | | 22 |
| 10 | 18 | David Malukas | Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports | Honda | 100 | +15.4401 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 21 |
| 11 | 11 | Marcus Armstrong R | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 100 | +15.8049 | 4 | 13 | | 19 |
| 12 | 78 | Agustín Canapino R | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Chevrolet | 100 | +28.1332 | 3 | 21 | | 18 |
| 13 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 99 | +1 Lap | 6 | 6 | 37 | 20 |
| 14 | 20 | Conor Daly | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 99 | +1 Lap | 5 | 26 | | 16 |
| 15 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 97 | +3 Laps | 5 | 5 | | 15 |
| 16 | 51 | Sting Ray Robb R | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Honda | 96 | Off Course | 6 | 23 | | 14 |
| 17 | 2 | Josef Newgarden W | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 95 | +5 Laps | 4 | 14 | | 13 |
| 18 | 28 | Romain Grosjean | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 71 | Contact | 3 | 1 | 31 | 14 |
| 19 | 6 | Felix Rosenqvist | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet | 51 | Contact damage | 3 | 8 | | 11 |
| 20 | 26 | Colton Herta W | Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian | Honda | 49 | Contact | 2 | 2 | | 10 |
| 21 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 41 | Contact | 3 | 24 | | 9 |
| 22 | 30 | Jack Harvey | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 41 | Contact | 2 | 19 | | 8 |
| 23 | 06 | Hélio Castroneves W | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 0 | Contact | | 15 | | 7 |
| 24 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 0 | Contact | | 17 | | 6 |
| 25 | 29 | Devlin DeFrancesco | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda | 0 | Contact | | 18 | | 5 |
| 26 | 60 | Simon Pagenaud | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 0 | Contact | | 25 | | 5 |
| 27 | 55 | Benjamin Pedersen R | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 0 | Contact | | 27 | | 5 |
| Fastest lap: Álex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) – 01:01.5104 (lap 68) |||||||||||
| Source: |||||||||||

## Championship standings after the race

| | Pos. | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Marcus Ericsson | 51 |
| | 2 | Patricio O'Ward | 41 |
| | 3 | Scott Dixon | 36 |
| | 4 | Alexander Rossi | 32 |
| | 5 | Callum Ilott | 30 |
| Source: ||||
| | Pos. | Manufacturer | Points |
| | 1 | Honda | 91 |
| | 2 | Chevrolet | 72 |
| Source: ||||
* Note: Only the top five positions are included.