Race Report: Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 1, 2026) -- Rookie Caio Collet emerged from the cockpit of his No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet happy after completing all 100 laps of his first NTT INDYCAR Series race to finish 17th after starting 24th.

The 23-year-old Brazilian from Sao Paulo gained his final position on the final lap of the Firestone Grand Prix around the 1.8 mile St. Petersburg street course after a lengthy battle with Graham Rahal.

Collet paces David Malukas during the race.

"I think it was definitely a good race," said the 2025 vice-champion of the INDY NXT by Firestone series. "We ended up on a positive note, moved forward. I think the strategy, we maximized what we

could do to be honest, and made some moves out on track as well, and kept out of trouble. We were quite quick on the blacks (primary Firestone tire) and I think on the Reds (alternate, softer compound tire) is something that I need to work on myself, just trying to see where the limit of the tire is and how the balance shifts between black and reds. Also what I need to be confident and extract the limit of the car on the red tire, I think it’s something that I need to work on in my driving. But I think overall, it was a good Sunday after a so-so Saturday, to be honest. Really happy, and just a big thanks to AJ Foyt Racing, Combitrans Amazonia and Chevrolet. I think we all did a pretty solid, solid Sunday. Happy to end the weekend on a positive note."

For Santino Ferrucci in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet, the race ended before it was barely underway. Ferrucci was battling with Graham Rahal on the opening lap as they came to Turn 4 when Sting Ray Robb shot up the inside and drove Ferrucci into the tire barrier. Rookie Mick Schumacher had nowhere to go and ended up on top of Ferrucci. No driver was injured. Robb was given a penalty for avoidable contact and continued on while both Ferrucci and Schumacher were done for the day.

After the morning warmup, Ferrucci and Larry Foyt were happy with the progress the team made with the car. Unfortunately, the sentiment was short-lived after the first lap accident.

"It's just a shame to be out on lap one of something that's not your doing," said a disappointed Ferrucci who was quite happy with his HFOT.ORG Chevy after the morning warmup. "You know, it's kind of weird—we all sit around and talk about it on the driver's stand or in driver intros--let's go easy on lap one. And every season, there's a few of us that do that, and then there's couple of us that just forget where the brake zone is. So, no, it's a bummer. You know, the Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet was so fast, and we’re just trying to be out here and be on the TV with those guys and driving to the top 10 to continue to raise awareness for them. So, yeah, it's just a shame."

Ferrucci's car sustained left rear corner suspension and wheel ramp damage from Schumacher's car and right front suspension damage from Robb's car. "Actually for the type of hit it was, he was pretty lucky there wasn't more damage," said crew member Iain Keith.

Defending NTT INDYCAR Series champion Alex Palou continued his winning ways to score the opening victory of the season. Rounding out the top five were: Scott McLaughlin, Christian Lundgaard, Kyle Kirkwood and Pato O'Ward.

The Series moves to the desert next Saturday for the Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, March 7th as they share a doubleheader with the NASCAR Cup Series. The race will be broadcast at 3 pm ET on FOX.

INDY NXT by Firestone rookie drivers Alessandro De Tullio and Nicholas Monteiro took on the streets of St. Petersburg, maximizing the circumstances and building a foundation for continued progress this season. Despite a mid-race incident that ended his day early, Monteiro collected valuable data to carry forward into the next round. De Tullio finished 10th and gained important insights in his first race in the series.

"Not the easiest race here at St. Pete," said DeTullio, who made his INDY NXT debut today. "We lacked a little bit in the car balance, but overall, I’m glad we finished the first race and laid the foundation. We kept it clean, even though we had a difficult start and some difficult restarts where we picked up some damage on the front wing. All that said, we still finished the race in P10. Now onto Arlington, where we'll come back stronger."

DeTullio finished 10th in the INDY NXT by Firestone series race in St. Petersburg. 

"We finished Round 1 here in St. Petersburg," commented Nicholas Monteiro, who made his second INDY NXT start today. "The car was great, we were on pace, and we were almost there, but unfortunately we had an incident in Turn 9. Unfortunate things like that happen, but we have another race in two weeks, so we'll prepare for that and prepare for the championship as a whole."

Monteiro wheeling around the 1.8-mile street course.

The two rookies will be back in action in two weeks in Arlington, Texas for the Grand Prix of Arlington, a brand new 2.73-mile street course around AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, and Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers. The race will be broadcast live at 11 a.m. ET on FS1.