2014 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

The 2014 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first race of the 2014 IndyCar Series season, the race took place on March 30 in St. Petersburg, Florida, on the city's temporary street course. The race was won by Will Power for Team Penske. Ryan Hunter-Reay finished second ahead of Hélio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, and Simon Pagenaud. The top finishing rookie in the race was Mikhail Aleshin, in 12th position.

United States 2014 St. Petersburg
Race details
1st round of the 2014 IndyCar Series season
DateMarch 30, 2014
Official nameHonda 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
DriverTakuma Sato (A. J. Foyt Enterprises)
Time1:01.8686
Fastest lap
DriverWill Power (Team Penske)
Time1:02.3404 (on lap 95 of 110)
Podium
FirstWill Power (Team Penske)
SecondRyan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport)
ThirdHélio Castroneves (Team Penske)

Report

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Background

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Scott Dixon entered this race as the defending series champion, having won his third Indycar title in the 2013 IndyCar Series season from Hélio Castroneves.

This was the first race for 3 Indycar rookies. Jack Hawksworth raced in the number 98 for Bryan Herta Autosport after moving up from the Indy Lights series. Mikhail Aleshin and Carlos Huertas, who both raced in Formula Renault 3.5 in 2013, made their debuts as well, with Aleshin racing for Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports and Huertas Dale Coyne Racing. Carlos Muñoz was the 4th rookie in the field with 3 Indycar races in the 2013 IndyCar Series season, most notably the 2013 Indianapolis 500.

Returning to American open wheel racing, since his last race in 2000, is Juan Pablo Montoya, the 1999 CART Champion and the 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner. In 2014 he will drive for Team Penske in the number 2 car.

This was also the first race for Chip Ganassi Racing using Chevrolet engines after the switch from Honda, with Tony Kanaan replacing Dario Franchitti, after his career ending crash in the second Houston race last year. Other drivers racing for a new teams are; Ryan Briscoe with Chip Ganassi Racing, Mike Conway with Ed Carpenter Racing, Sébastien Bourdais and Sebastián Saavedra with KV Racing Technology.

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos Name Grp. Round 1 Round 2 Firestone Fast 6
1   Takuma Sato 2 1:12.0073 1:03.0131 1:01.8686
2   Tony Kanaan 1 1:13.4961 1:03.2674 1:02.1637
3   Ryan Hunter-Reay 1 1:13.7241 1:03.1647 1:02.2167
4   Will Power 2 1:12.2248 1:03.2183 1:02.3955
5   Scott Dixon 2 1:12.0083 1:03.3753 1:02.3955
6   Marco Andretti 1 1:14.7209 1:03.2406 1:02.9595
7   Carlos Muñoz (R) 2 1:12.0603 1:03.3955
8   Jack Hawksworth (R) 2 1:12.1556 1:03.5738
9   Ryan Briscoe 1 1:15.6860 1:03.6206
10   Hélio Castroneves 1 1:14.8811 1:03.6635
11   Sebastián Saavedra 2 1:12.3060 1:03.8374
12   Mike Conway 1 1:13.9450 1:03.9618
13   Sébastien Bourdais 1 1:15.8337
14   Simon Pagenaud 2 1:12.3741
15   Mikhail Aleshin (R) 1 1:15.9111
16   Justin Wilson 2 1:12.5890
17   Carlos Huertas (R) 1 1:16.8105
18   Juan Pablo Montoya 2 1:12.6994
19   James Hinchcliffe 1 2:34.4862
20   Charlie Kimball 2 1:13.0048
21   Graham Rahal 1 no time
22   Josef Newgarden 2 1:13.1170

Race results

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Pos Driver Team Engine Laps Time/Retired Pit Stops Grid Laps Led Points1
1   Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 110 2:06:57.6288 3 4 74 53
2   Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 110 + 1.9475 3 3 40
3   Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet 110 + 7.8716 3 10 2 36
4   Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 110 + 15.9685 3 5 32
5   Simon Pagenaud Sam Schmidt Motorsports Honda 110 + 17.3937 3 14 30
6   Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 110 + 20.3882 3 2 28
7   Takuma Sato A. J. Foyt Enterprises Honda 110 + 20.8561 3 1 33 28
8   Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda 110 + 21.0622 3 16 24
9   Josef Newgarden Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 110 + 21.5544 3 22 22
10   Ryan Briscoe Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 110 + 23.9897 3 9 20
11   Sebastián Saavedra KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 110 + 34.4041 3 17 19
12   Mikhail Aleshin (R) Sam Schmidt Motorsports Honda 110 + 34.9969 5 15 18
13   Sébastien Bourdais KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 110 + 35.3526 4 13 17
14   Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 110 + 38.9881 4 21 16
15   Juan Pablo Montoya Team Penske Chevrolet 110 + 40.3350 4 18 15
16   Mike Conway Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 110 + 40.9140 4 12 1 15
17   Carlos Muñoz (R) Andretti Autosport Honda 110 + 44.6244 4 7 13
18   Carlos Huertas (R) Dale Coyne Racing Honda 110 + 47.5637 4 17 12
19   James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Honda 109 + 1 Lap 3 19 11
20   Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 108 + 2 Laps 4 20 10
21   Jack Hawksworth (R) Bryan Herta Autosport Honda 83 Contact 3 8 9
22   Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Honda 82 Contact 3 6 8
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

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included.

References

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Previous race:
None
IndyCar Series
2014 season
Next race:
2014 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Previous race:
2013 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Next race:
2015 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg