IndyCar: Palow started the season with a win, Schwartzman – 20th

      Alex Palow, the reigning IndyCar champion, took the first step towards his fourth title in the American series by winning the St. Petersburg Grand Prix. The Spanish racer of the Chip Ganassi Racing team crossed the finish line of the city highway 2.867 seconds ahead of Scott Dixon, his team-mate.

      Until the last lap, Joseph Newgarden, driving for Team Penske, claimed second place, but lost this position due to problems with the electronics on his car, but remained the best driver in the Dallara-Chevrolet. And the first two places went to rivals in cars with Honda engines.

      Commentators who followed the course of events on the classic American street circuit in Florida stated that the first 90 of the 100 laps of the race were not so exciting, but in the end it became more interesting.

      Scott McLaughlin, who started from pole position, led for 40 laps, but he was let down by not the most effective tire tactics, and as a result, the New Zealand driver of Team Penske took 4th place.

      Observers note the breakthrough of Pato O'ward, driving for Arrow McLaren, from 23rd position at the start to 11th place at the finish.

      It's a rare race in St. Petersburg without dramatic crashes in Turn 3. This time, such an incident, and a very large-scale one, occurred immediately after the start, as a result, Will Power, Nolan Siegel and Louis Foster immediately left the race. And Pato O'ward got a punctured tire, which forced him to make a pit stop on the second lap.

      The debut race for the Prema Racing team, for which Robert Schwartzman stands, went well in the sense that both of its riders reached the finish line. Robert took 20th place, while his teammate Callum Aylott finished one position higher.

      The team believes that Robert, in his very first race in the overseas series, fully coped with the task before him, "demonstrating a confident and stable pace, and will continue to gain experience."

      Robert Schwartzman: "It was the very first race, so we didn't have much expectations today, but I think we did our best. However, we were again hampered by problems with radio communication.

      This affected my choice of tactics, and I was actually left to my own devices and had to navigate the situation on my own, which was not easy, because this was our first time playing here.

      I was unaware of many of the events taking place on the track. If it wasn't for that, we could have finished in a higher position, but the most important thing is that I gave it my all. Now we will continue to work hard, analyze everything we have learned this weekend, and prepare for the next race, which will take place in three weeks."

      The second stage of the season will take place on March 23rd at the Thermal Club highway in California.