2019 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The 2019 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first round of the 2019 Airbnb IndyCar Series, following the series' two-year hiatus. The race was held on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Race Report
Starting from pole position, Will Power was able to retain the lead after defending from Carlos Muñoz and Ryan Hunter-Reay at the beginning of the race. Power was able to lead for almost the entire race and built a comfortable margin over the rest of the field. He was helped by Penske's tactics of leaving team-mate James Hinchcliffe out to back the remainder of the pack up, allowing Power to generate a gap of over thirty seconds ahead of Hinchcliffe.
After Hinchcliffe made his first stop, Power managed to spin at turn 4 and 2nd-placed Muñoz was able to reel in the Australian. Following a crash from J. R. Hildebrand in the late stages of the race, Power's Penske sustained damage from contact with the stricken Dale Coyne and had to pit for a new front wing, allowing Muñoz to take the first victory of the season. Former ARWS champion Thomas De Bock claimed 2nd in his first IndyCar grand prix, and Josef Newgarden took 3rd to cap off a bittersweet afternoon for the Dale Coyne Racing team.
Qualifying Results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 |  Will Power
|
Team Penske | 1:00.048 | |
| 2 | 10 |  Carlos Muñoz
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:00.243 | +0.195 |
| 3 | 64 |  Ashley Cassidy
|
Cassidy Racing | 1:00.251 | +0.203 |
| 4 | 4 |  Sébastien Bourdais
|
KVSH Racing | 1:00.268 | +0.220 |
| 5 | 8 | Ryan Hunter-Reay
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:00.293 | +0.245 |
| 6 | 12 |  Thomas De Bock
|
Team Penske | 1:00.335 | +0.287 |
| 7 | 21 | Ryan Briscoe
|
Ed Carpenter Racing | 1:00.345 | +0.297 |
| 8 | 2 | Simon Pagenaud
|
Team Penske | 1:00.348 | +0.300 |
| 9 | 15 | Graham Rahal
|
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 1:00.368 | +0.320 |
| 10 | 83 |  Scott Dixon
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:00.383 | +0.335 |
| 11 | 11 |  Simona de Silvestro
|
KVSH Racing | 1:00.409 | +0.361 |
| 12 | 26 |  Felipe Massa
|
Andretti Autosport | 1:00.434 | +0.386 |
| 13 | 22 |  James Hinchcliffe
|
Team Penske | 1:00.446 | +0.398 |
| 14 | 18 | Josef Newgarden
|
Dale Coyne Racing | 1:00.450 | +0.402 |
| 15 | 5 |  Sergio Pérez
|
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | 1:00.475 | +0.427 |
| 16 | 7 |  Karun Chandhok
|
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | 1:00.483 | +0.435 |
| 17 | 65 |  Raffaele Marciello
|
Cassidy Racing | 1:00.498 | +0.450 |
| 18 | 28 | Kyle Kaiser
|
Andretti Autosport | 1:00.535 | +0.487 |
| 19 | 9 | Lance Stroll
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:00.544 | +0.496 |
| 20 | 19 | J. R. Hildebrand
|
Dale Coyne Racing | 1:00.551 | +0.503 |
| 21 | 20 | Conor Daly
|
Ed Carpenter Racing | 1:00.574 | +0.526 |
| 22 | 16 |  Esteban Guerrieri
|
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 1:00.607 | +0.559 |
| 23 | 27 | Marco Andretti
|
Andretti Autosport | 1:00.655 | +0.607 |
| 24 | 41 | Collin Pratchett
|
A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 1:00.752 | +0.704 |
| 25 | 14 |  Max Chilton
|
A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 1:00.776 | +0.728 |
| 26 | 98 | Colton Herta
|
Andretti Herta Autosport | 1:00.923 | +0.875 |
Race Results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time/Ret | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Carlos Muñoz
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:46:18.412 | 50 |
| 2 | 12 | Thomas De Bock
|
Team Penske | +2.682 | 40 |
| 3 | 18 | Josef Newgarden
|
Dale Coyne Racing | +11.757 | 35 |
| 4 | 3 | Will Power
|
Team Penske | +20.531 | 35 |
| 5 | 22 | James Hinchcliffe
|
Team Penske | +39.932 | 30 |
| 6 | 83 | Scott Dixon
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | +40.236 | 28 |
| 7 | 8 | Ryan Hunter-Reay
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | +40.553 | 26 |
| 8 | 11 | Simona de Silvestro
|
KVSH Racing | +42.287 | 24 |
| 9 | 9 | Lance Stroll
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | +42.778 | 22 |
| 10 | 16 | Esteban Guerrieri
|
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | +44.312 | 20 |
| 11 | 28 | Kyle Kaiser
|
Andretti Autosport | +48.183 | 19 |
| 12 | 27 | Marco Andretti
|
Andretti Autosport | +51.107 | 18 |
| 13 | 26 | Felipe Massa
|
Andretti Autosport | +53.365 | 17 |
| 14 | 41 | Collin Pratchett
|
A. J. Foyt Enterprises | +55.559 | 16 |
| 15 | 98 | Colton Herta
|
Andretti Herta Autosport | +1:01.133 | 15 |
| 16 | 19 | J. R. Hildebrand
|
Dale Coyne Racing | +1 Lap | 14 |
| 17 | 21 | Ryan Briscoe
|
Ed Carpenter Racing | +1 Lap | 13 |
| 18 | 5 | Sergio Pérez
|
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | +1 Lap | 12 |
| 19 | 14 | Max Chilton
|
A. J. Foyt Enterprises | +1 Lap | 11 |
| 20 | 64 | Ashley Cassidy
|
Cassidy Racing | +2 Laps | 10 |
| 21 | 15 | Graham Rahal
|
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | +7 Laps/Engine | 9 |
| 22 | 7 | Karun Chandhok
|
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Gearbox | 8 |
| 23 | 4 | Sébastien Bourdais
|
KVSH Racing | Oil Leak | 7 |
| 24 | 65 | Raffaele Marciello
|
Cassidy Racing | Engine | 6 |
| 25 | 20 | Conor Daly
|
Ed Carpenter Racing | Engine | 5 |
| 26 | 2 | Simon Pagenaud
|
Team Penske | Engine | 5 |