2017 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
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The 2017 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first round of the 2017 IndyCar Series. The race was held on March 12, 2017, in
St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
, on the city's temporary street circuit. The race was won by
Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships ...
, coming from last place on the grid.


Background

Prior to the 2017 running of the event, many of the streets used for the circuit were repaved. However, a series of bumps caused by the repaving in the turn 3 area caused several cars in support races to lose control. As a result, the turn was reconfigured, with the outside wall moved back 40 feet and curbing added to the inside of the corner, making the turn sharper and slower.


Report


Qualifying

Qualifying for the event took place on Saturday, March 11.
Will Power William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
grabbed pole position, marking the seventh time that the Australian had qualified first at St. Petersburg. His time of 1:01.0640 (at an average of 106.12 mph (170.12 km/h)) stood nearly two-tenths faster than second place qualifier
Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
's and confirming St. Petersburg's status as the slowest track on the calendar. Rounding out the top six were
James Hinchcliffe James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver and commentator best known for competing in the IndyCar Series. Hinchcliffe won six races for Andretti Autosport and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. In 2015, ...
,
Josef Newgarden Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series full-time for Team Penske. He is the 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion and 2011 Indy Lights champion. Career Karting Newga ...
,
Takuma Sato , nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
, and
Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...
. Defending champion
Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...
struggled during qualifications, relegating him to a 14th place start.
Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships ...
brought out the lone red flag of qualifying after crashing into the outside barriers in turn 13 during his out lap. Under new IndyCar regulations, Bourdais was parked for the remainer of the session for bringing out the red flag. Having not completed a lap, Bourdais was relegated to starting 21st and last.


Race

The race was held on Sunday, March 12. The beginning of the race saw
Will Power William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
protect his first place start, while
James Hinchcliffe James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver and commentator best known for competing in the IndyCar Series. Hinchcliffe won six races for Andretti Autosport and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. In 2015, ...
managed to pass
Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
for second place. While the entire field made it through the first turn cleanly, the second and third turns caused issues. Coming through turn 2,
Graham Rahal Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner ...
and
Charlie Kimball Charles Newton Kimball (born February 20, 1985) is an American race car driver currently competing in the IndyCar Series with A. J. Foyt Enterprises He has scored a win, six podiums, and 13 top 5s. His best season result was ninth in 2013 and 201 ...
made contact, sending Rahal into a spin and sending Kimball toward the outside wall in turn 3, where he collected Carlos Muñoz.
Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona wit ...
, Ed Jones, and
Mikhail Aleshin Mikhail Petrovich Aleshin ( rus, Михаи́л Петро́вич Алёшин, p=mʲɪxɐˈil pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ɐˈlʲɵʂɨn, born 22 May 1987 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Russian professional racing driver and the 2010 champion of the For ...
also suffered damage in the incident. The incident brought out the first full-course caution of the event. On the restart on lap 5, Hinchcliffe immediately moved into the lead with a move around the outside of turn 1 and began to pull away, extending his lead to over four seconds by lap 12. On lap 14, Power suddenly dived into the pits with a puncture, sending him to the back of the field. Leaving the pits, Power ran over an air hose, which incurred a drive-through penalty and put him even further behind the leader.
Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
moved into second place after Power's emergency pit stop. On lap 20, the first round of green flag pit stops began, with several drivers further down the order, including
Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships ...
and
Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...
, being some of the first in. However, the race's second full-course caution came out in the middle of this pit sequence on lap 26, when
Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...
and
Mikhail Aleshin Mikhail Petrovich Aleshin ( rus, Михаи́л Петро́вич Алёшин, p=mʲɪxɐˈil pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ɐˈlʲɵʂɨn, born 22 May 1987 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Russian professional racing driver and the 2010 champion of the For ...
made contact in turn 4, littering the track with debris. The caution forced the top seven drivers in the race to pit during the caution and lose large amounts of track positions. In the pit lane,
Spencer Pigot Spencer James Pigot (born September 29, 1993) is an American racing driver who currently drives in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Personal life Pigot was born in Los Angeles and raised Pasadena, California, and Orlando where he graduated from ...
, who had been running fifth prior to the pit stop, suffered a failure and subsequent explosion of the left-rear brake on his car, eventually forcing him out of the race. Following the pit stops for the leaders, Pagenaud was the leader of the race, with Bourdais and
Marco Andretti Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...
in second and third. Racing resumed on lap 30 with no major action up front. Further back,
Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
briefly lost acceleration on his car, sending him well down the order. In turn 2,
Conor Daly Conor J. Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American professional racing driver who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet C ...
and
Ryan Hunter-Reay Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...
made contact, but both were able to avoid significant damage. On lap 37, the lead of the race changed hands again when
Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships ...
was able to pass
Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...
in turn 1. Bourdais quickly began to pull away. The second round of green flag pit stops began on lap 50, this time with no interruption from a caution period. After the cycle was complete, Bourdais and Pagenaud remained first and second, while
Will Power William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
moved up to third, though Power's early pit stops meant that he was off-sequence from the rest of the leaders. Up front, Bourdais began to expand his lead even farther than on the previous stint, as his team had no concerns about saving fuel that others had. Farther back in the field,
Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
had begun to move back up through the field after his earlier woes, slotting into seventh place by lap 75. The final round of green flag pit stops began on lap 77, when the off-sequence Power brought his car in.
Alexander Rossi Alexander Michael Rossi (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional racing driver and podcast host. He currently competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. Rossi is best known for winning ...
also pitted due to a leak in one of his tires. Once again, Bourdais emerged in front of Pagenaud and Power as the race leader. During this sequence,
Takuma Sato , nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
suffered from a delayed pit stop after a wheel-gun jammed, causing the Japanese driver to lose a few positions. Dixon continued his climb back through the field, emerging from the sequence with fourth place. Shortly after the end of the pit-stops, Power slowed severely on track with an issue with the fuel-feed. Despite efforts to get the issue fixed without bringing the car into the pits, Power was black flagged for running too slowly and eventually retired from the race due to a mechanical issue. Up front, the last laps proved no issue for Bourdais, who had, by the end of the race, pulled out over 10 seconds on second place Pagenaud. Third place went to Dixon, who was able to recover from his early race issues, but was also puzzled by the caution that came out after Kanaan and Aleshin made contact. Rounding out the top five were
Andretti Autosport Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...
teammates Hunter-Reay and Sato, both of whom had dealt with crashes during the practices leading up to the race. Bourdais' victory came after starting in last place and in his first race driving for
Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) is an American professional open-wheel racing team that currently competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was founded in 1984 and is owned by former driver Dale Coyne. From 1995 to 2000, the team was known as Payton-Coyn ...
since
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
. The win marked his 36th in American Open-Wheel Racing, breaking a tie between himself and
Bobby Unser Robert William Unser (February 20, 1934 – May 2, 2021) was an American automobile racer. At his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, he had the fourth most IndyCar Series wins at 35 (behind his brother Al, A. J. Fo ...
for sixth on the all-time wins list. For Bourdais, it was his first win since Detroit during the previous season. For Dale Coyne Racing, the win was the team's first since 2014, when
Carlos Huertas Carlos Huertas (born 22 June 1991) is a Colombian racing driver. Racing career Born in Bogotá, Huertas began his career in Formula BMW UK in 2007 with Räikkönen Robertson Racing where he finished 13th. He finished fifth in the World Final r ...
took victory at the Houston street circuit.


Results


Qualifying

Source for individual rounds:


Race

Notes: 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. Source for time gaps:


Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Manufacturer standings * Note: Only the top five positions are included.


References


External links


Official Pit Stop Data

Official Race Broadcast
{{IndyCar Series race report , Name_of_race =
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...
, Year_of_race = 2017 , Previous_race_in_season = None , Next_race_in_season =
2017 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach The 2017 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the second round of the 2017 IndyCar Series and the 43rd annual running of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The race was contested over 85 laps on a temporary street circuit in Long Beach, Califor ...
, Previous_year's_race = 2016 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg , Next_year's_race = 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...
21st century in St. Petersburg, Florida
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil). The race is held annually ...