ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After two frustrating seasons at Andretti Global, Marcus Ericsson started his 2026 NTT IndyCar Series campaign with a sixth-place finish in Sunday’s (March 1) Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
The 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner started second in the No. 28 Andretti Global Honda and ran in that position for almost two-thirds of the 100-lap race around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile street circuit. However, Ericsson’s second stint of the race became pivotal to his final result.
Ericsson’s pit crew put on a used set of Firestone’s red sidewall alternate compound tires at his first pit stop on the race’s 36th lap. The alternate compound tires give more grip than the black sidewall primary compound tires, but at the cost of reduced lifespan.
Near the end of Ericsson’s middle stint, he was losing well over a second per lap to race leader and eventual race winner Alex Palou as the used alternate tires fell off their prime grip level.
“It was really tough, that second stint on reds killed our race,” Ericsson told Frontstretch. “You know, if we had a sticker red [set of tires] there, we would have finished on the podium, no doubt. So, yeah, that just makes it a bit disappointing. But anyway, overall, I was really happy with the way I drove this weekend.
“I felt like I was aggressive. I was back to the way I should be driving. So, a lot of positives to bring.”
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Ericsson lost second place to Scott McLaughlin at the start of lap 65. One lap later, Ericsson defended his position very aggressively against Marcus Armstrong before Christian Lundgaard got by the 2023 St. Petersburg race winner.
Shortly after Lundgaard completed his pass, Ericsson pitted.
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“My tires were completely gone,” Ericsson said. “My rears were done, so I was just like desperately trying to keep the car on track and keep cars behind me. So it’s quite on the limit, but that’s how it goes.”
Ericsson cycled out of the pit stop sequence in sixth place, where he remained for the rest of the race.
St. Petersburg gave Ericsson the chance to find his old form. The Swede had only two top-10 finishes in 2025 and placed 20th in IndyCar points as a result. Something had to change for 2026.
“I’ve been really analyzing a lot last year and I was pretty pissed off with myself,” Ericsson said. “And then you know, just my performance last year and especially the end of it, it was not, I was not myself driving, you know. I was really disappointed with that, so I’ve really been working hard this winter, mentally, especially to come out and be strong and confident and show that on track. And I really feel like I did that this weekend, so I’m really proud of that and you know we’re off to a great start.”
The next NTT IndyCar Series race is the Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, March 7.
