2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

The 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first round of the 2018 IndyCar Series. The race was held on March 11, 2018, in St. Petersburg, Florida, on the city's temporary street circuit.

2018 St. Petersburg
Race details
1st round of the 2018 IndyCar Series season
DateMarch 11, 2018
Official nameFirestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
LocationStreets of St. Petersburg
CourseTemporary street circuit
1.800 mi / 2.897 km
Distance110 laps
198.000 mi / 318.670 km
Pole position
DriverRobert Wickens (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports)
Time1:01.6664
Fastest lap
DriverAlexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport)
Time1:01.7244 (on lap 87 of 110)
Podium
FirstSebastien Bourdais (Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan)
SecondGraham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing)
ThirdAlexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport)

Background

The race was the debut of the new standard aero kits.

Report

Qualifying

Rookie Robert Wickens took the pole in his first ever IndyCar Series start, while newcomers Matheus Leist and Jordan King also made the Firestone Fast Six, qualifying third and fourth, respectively.

Race

The race featured a record number of cautions (8), on-track passes (366) and lead changes (11).[1]

Robert Wickens lead most of the race, until the last restart, when the 2nd place car of Alexander Rossi attempted a pass down the inside of turn 1. It seemed as though Rossi had completed the move, until he slid up the track, taking Wickens out, and leaving himself to limp home to 3rd in a damaged car.

Results
Icon Meaning
R Rookie
W Past winner

Qualifying
Pos No. Name Grp. Round 1 Round 2 Firestone Fast 6
1 6 Robert Wickens R 1 1:00.0999 1:00.5428 1:01.6643
2 12 Will Power W 2 1:00.5969 1:00.5911 1:01.7346
3 4 Matheus Leist R 2 1:00.6331 1:00.7679 1:01.7631
4 20 Jordan King R 1 1:00.0476 1:00.7305 1:01.7633
5 30 Takuma Sato 2 1:00.9580 1:00.8470 1:01.8821
6 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay 1 1:00.4087 1:00.9243 1:02.0385
7 5 James Hinchcliffe W 2 1:00.8441 1:00.9986
8 88 Gabby Chaves 2 1:00.8507 1:01.1191
9 9 Scott Dixon 2 1:00.8435 1:01.6527
10 14 Tony Kanaan 1 1:00.2828 1:01.7213
11 22 Simon Pagenaud 1 1:00.3242 1:04.6739
12 27 Alexander Rossi 1 1:00.0936 1:07.0377
13 1 Josef Newgarden 1 1:00.4320
14 18 Sébastien Bourdais W 2 1:00.9587
15 26 Zach Veach R 1 1:00.4585
16 21 Spencer Pigot 2 1:00.9668
17 10 Ed Jones 1 1:00.5009
18 98 Marco Andretti 2 1:01.3013
19 60 Jack Harvey R 1 1:01.0270
20 59 Max Chilton 2 1:01.3360
21 23 Charlie Kimball 1 1:01.1868
22 19 Zachary Claman DeMelo R 2 1:01.8567
23 32 René Binder R 1 1:01.7003
24 15 Graham Rahal W 2 1:04.0990
OFFICIAL BOX SCORE

Source for individual rounds:[2]

Race
Pos No. Driver Team Engine Laps Time/Retired Pit Stops Grid Laps Led Pts.1
1 18 Sébastien Bourdais W Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda 110 2:17:48.4954 4 14 30 51
2 15 Graham Rahal W Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 110 +0.1269 3 24 40
3 27 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 110 +0.7109 3 12 5 36
4 5 James Hinchcliffe W Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 110 +1.5175 3 7 32
5 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 110 +1.9907 4 6 1 31
6 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 110 +2.2716 6 9 28
7 1 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 110 +3.3842 4 13 26
8 10 Ed Jones Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 110 +4.2992 3 17 24
9 98 Marco Andretti Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian Honda 110 +4.8363 3 18 22
10 12 Will Power W Team Penske Chevrolet 110 +6.1272 4 2 20
11 14 Tony Kanaan A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 110 +6.5176 3 10 19
12 30 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 110 +7.4005 5 5 18
13 22 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 110 +7.9903 4 11 17
14 88 Gabby Chaves Harding Racing Chevrolet 110 +9.2272 4 8 16
15 21 Spencer Pigot Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 109 +1 Lap 6 16 15
16 26 Zach Veach R Andretti Autosport Honda 109 +1 Lap 5 15 14
17 19 Zachary Claman DeMelo R Dale Coyne Racing Honda 109 +1 Lap 5 22 13
18 6 Robert Wickens R Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 108 Contact 3 1 69 16
19 59 Max Chilton Carlin Chevrolet 108 +2 Laps 5 20 11
20 23 Charlie Kimball Carlin Chevrolet 107 +3 Laps 6 21 10
21 20 Jordan King R Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 107 +3 Laps 5 4 5 10
22 32 René Binder R Juncos Racing Chevrolet 100 Contact 5 23 8
23 60 Jack Harvey R Michael Shank Racing with Schmidt Peterson Honda 38 Off Course 1 19 7
24 4 Matheus Leist R A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 16 Contact 2 3 6
OFFICIAL BOX SCORE

Notes: 1 Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.

Championship standings after the race
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included.

References
  1. "Record-Setting Weekend for IndyCar at St. Pete • The Apex". The Apex. 2018-03-11. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  2. "Race Report: 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg • The Apex - Page 2". The Apex. 2018-03-11. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
Previous race:
None		 IndyCar Series
2018 season		 Next race:
2018 Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix
Previous race:
2017 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg		 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Next race:
2019 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
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