March 1, 2025
— ST. PETERSBURG, FL
- Colton Herta rolls off P2 in his #26 Andretti Global Honda
- Meyer Shank Racing duo of Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong lock out second row
- Scott Dixon qualifies sixth as he searches for first St. Pete win
Colton Herta once again led the Honda contingent of NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers in qualifying today at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Herta will start second for the first race of 2025 aboard his #26 Andretti Global Honda.
The pair of Meyer Shank Racing Hondas will line up just behind Herta, with Felix Rosenqvist (#60) and Marcus Armstrong (#66) locking out the second row. Also making the Firestone Fast Six round of qualifying for Honda was Scott Dixon, who will line up sixth as he searches for his first St. Pete win. The Streets of St. Petersburg is one of only four tracks on the schedule that the six-time IndyCar champ has not found himself in victory lane.
Marcus Ericsson, reigning champion Alex Palou, and Kyle Kirkwood narrowly missed the Fast Six. They will line up seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. While newcomer to the Honda fold, Rinus VeeKay, will line up 12th in his first race for Dale Coyne Racing.
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Honda Qualifying Results
- 2nd Colton Herta
- 3rd Felix Rosenqvist
- 4th Marcus Armstrong
- 6th Scott Dixon
- 7th Marcus Ericsson
- 8th Alex Palou
- 9th Kyle Kirkwood
- 12th Rinus VeeKay
- 14th Devlin DeFrancesco
- 15th Kyffin Simpson
- 16th Louis Foster-R
- 21st Graham Rahal
- 25th Jacob Abel-R
Andretti Global Honda
Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Andretti Global Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Andretti Global Honda
Dale Coyne Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Dale Coyne Racing Honda
R – Rookie
Quotes
Colton Herta (#26 Andretti Global Honda) qualified second: “It’s exciting! I can’t wait to see how the race will be, but for qualifying it’s really exciting. Especially to have these green [softer Firestone] tires and really hang it out there. It’s a hard thing to do, it’s a hard thing to get every corner right for one lap. Inside the cockpit, it’s really a guestimate of ‘I think I can brake here, I think I can roll this much speed.’ It did get easier through the rounds, and we had a really solid car. I’m really happy with how this Gainbridge Honda is performing and how we turned it around from yesterday. This one is really all up to the guys, they really lit the fire underneath me and here we are.”
Felix Rosenqvist (#60 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) qualified third: “ This is a good start to the season here in St. Pete. We got a second row lockout for Meyer Shank Racing, which is super exciting. In all honesty, the start to our weekend was quite tough, and I felt like we were a slight step behind and just kept trying to claw back in every session and every outing. Then when it matters, we were almost on for pole position. It’s always hard when you just miss out on it, I’ve been in that boat many times, but I’ve also had the pleasure of having many poles. P3 and the second row is really good in the end, this is where we want to be, and I think we have a good Honda race car, so I’m super excited and looking forward to tomorrow.”
Honda at St. Pete
- Honda-powered drivers have won 11 of the 20 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at St. Petersburg since the event was revived for the 2005 season. The late Dan Wheldon led a Honda and Andretti Green Racing sweep of the top four positions in the inaugural 2005 event.
- While Marcus Ericsson was the last winner for Honda on the streets of St. Pete, winning the race in 2023.
- Other Honda winners on the streets of St. Petersburg include Colton Herta in 2021; Sebastian Bourdais in 2017-18; Dario Franchitti in 2011; Will Power in 2010; Ryan Briscoe in 2009; Graham Rahal in 2008; and Helio Castroneves in 2006 and ’07.
Where to Watch
- Television coverage of Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg starts at 12:00 p.m. ET on Fox. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).
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