2022 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg explained

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.

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

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

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.

KeyMeaning
Rookie
Past winner
Driver Team Engine
2 Josef Newgarden Chevrolet
3Chevrolet
4Chevrolet
5Chevrolet
06 Hélio Castroneves Honda
7Chevrolet
8Honda
9Honda
10Honda
11 Tatiana Calderón Chevrolet
12 Will Power Chevrolet
14 Kyle Kirkwood Chevrolet
15 Graham Rahal Honda
18 David Malukas Honda
20Chevrolet
21Ed Carpenter RacingChevrolet
26 Colton Herta Honda
27Honda
28Honda
29 Devlin DeFrancesco Honda
30 Christian Lundgaard Honda
45Honda
48Honda
51Honda
60Honda
77 Callum Ilott Chevrolet
Source:[5]

Practice

Practice 1

+ Top Practice Speeds
Driver Team Engine Lap Time
128 Romain GrosjeanAndretti AutosportHonda1:01:0525
226 Colton Herta Andretti Autosport with Curb-AgajanianHonda1:01:1567
312 Will Power Team PenskeChevrolet1:01:2282
Source:[6]

Practice 2

+ Top Practice Speeds
Driver Team Engine Lap Time
13 Scott McLaughlinTeam PenskeChevrolet00:59.7342
226 Colton HertaAndretti Autosport with Curb-AgajanianHonda01:00.0851
360 Simon PagenaudMeyer Shank RacingHonda01:00.0853
Source:[7]

Qualifying

Qualifying classification

DriverTeamEngineTime
Round 1
Group 1Group 2
13 Scott McLaughlinTeam PenskeChevroletN/A 00:59.584600:59.515700:59.48211
212 Will Power Team PenskeChevroletN/A 00:59.392900:59.346600:59.60582
326 Colton Herta Andretti Autosport with Curb-AgajanianHonda00:59.4662N/A 00:59.405100:59.71043
421 Rinus VeeKayEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet00:59.8046N/A 00:59.623200:59.81024
528 Romain GrosjeanAndretti AutosportHondaN/A 00:59.626700:59.555900:59.81165
660 Simon PagenaudMeyer Shank RacingHondaN/A 00:59.703900:59.588101:00.20416
79 Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingHonda00:59.8106N/A 00:59.7579N/A7
88 Marcus EricssonChip Ganassi RacingHondaN/A 00:59.881500:59.8241N/A8
92 Josef Newgarden Team PenskeChevrolet00:59.9148N/A 00:59.8862N/A9
1010 Álex PalouChip Ganassi RacingHondaN/A 00:59.895600:59.9584N/A10
1115 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda00:59.7760N/A 00:59.9870N/A11
1214 Kyle Kirkwood A. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet00:59.8534N/A01:00.2616N/A12
1327 Alexander RossiAndretti AutosportHonda00:59.9931N/A N/AN/A13
144 Dalton KellettA. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevroletN/A 00:59.9521N/AN/A14
1530 Christian Lundgaard Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda01:00.0276N/A N/AN/A15
165 Pato O'WardArrow McLaren SPChevroletN/A 01:00.0021N/AN/A16
1706 Hélio Castroneves Meyer Shank RacingHonda01:00.1426N/A N/AN/A17
1829 Devlin DeFrancesco Andretti Steinbrenner AutosportHondaN/A 01:00.0850N/AN/A18
1977 Callum Ilott Juncos Hollinger RacingChevrolet01:00.2121N/A N/AN/A19
2020 Conor DalyEd Carpenter RacingChevroletN/A 01:00.1921N/AN/A20
217 Felix RosenqvistArrow McLaren SPChevrolet01:00.3918N/A N/AN/A21
2251 Takuma SatoDale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware RacingHondaN/A 01:00.2930N/AN/A22
2345 Jack HarveyRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda01:00.5333N/A N/AN/A22
2418 David Malukas Dale Coyne Racing with HMD MotorsportsHondaN/A 01:00.4601N/AN/A24
2511 Tatiana Calderón A. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet01:00.9391N/AN/AN/A25
2648Chip Ganassi RacingHondaN/A01:01.0273N/AN/A26
Source:[8]
Notes

Warmup

Top Warmup Speeds!!!Driver!Team!Engine!Lap Time
126 Colton Herta Andretti Autosport with Curb-AgajanianHonda01:00.3283
22 Josef Newgarden Team PenskeChevrolet01:00.5971
310 Álex PalouChip Ganassi RacingHonda01:00.8311
Source:[9]

Race

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

Race classification

DriverTeamEngineLapsTime/RetiredPit
Stops		GridLaps
Led
13 Scott McLaughlinTeam PenskeChevrolet1001:51:27.3466214954
210 Álex PalouChip Ganassi RacingHonda100+0.5095210141
312 Will Power Team PenskeChevrolet100+2.467122136
426 Colton Herta Andretti Autosport with Curb-AgajanianHonda100+15.84422332
528 Romain GrosjeanAndretti AutosportHonda100+18.45252530
621 Rinus VeeKayEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet100+20.6514241329
715 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda100+21.418121126
89 Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingHonda100+22.0277372625
98 Marcus EricssonChip Ganassi RacingHonda100+22.36742822
1051 Takuma SatoDale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware RacingHonda100+23.274322220
1130 Christian Lundgaard Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda100+24.424421519
125 Pato O'WardArrow McLaren SPChevrolet100+26.275031618
1345 Jack HarveyRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda100+31.668732317
1406 Hélio Castroneves Meyer Shank RacingHonda100+33.598531716
1560 Simon PagenaudMeyer Shank RacingHonda100+34.21473615
162 Josef Newgarden Team PenskeChevrolet100+36.26033914
177 Felix RosenqvistArrow McLaren SPChevrolet100+39.036132113
1814 Kyle Kirkwood A. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet100+58.124031212
1977 Callum Ilott Juncos Hollinger RacingChevrolet100+58.722331911
2027 Alexander RossiAndretti AutosportHonda100+59.16342131011
2120 Conor DalyEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet100+1:00.13583209
2229 Devlin DeFrancesco Andretti Steinbrenner AutosportHonda100+1:02.86133188
2348Chip Ganassi RacingHonda99+1 Lap2267
2411 Tatiana Calderón A. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet97+3 Laps4256
254 Dalton KellettA. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet62Gearbox3145
2618 David Malukas Dale Coyne Racing with HMD MotorsportsHonda23Accident1245
Fastest lap

Conor Daly (Ed Carpenter Racing)– 01:00.9868 (lap 53)

Source:[10]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
DriverPoints
1 Scott McLaughlin54
2 Álex Palou41
3 Will Power36
4 Colton Herta32
5 Romain Grosjean30
Source:
Engine manufacturer standings
ManufacturerPoints
1Chevrolet91
2Honda72
Source:[11]

Notes and References

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

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "2022 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.