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2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg preview

By Brittany Frederick

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - MARCH 12: Sebastien Bourdais, driver of the #18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda, races through a turn during the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 12, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fl. Bourdais won the season-opening event. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - MARCH 12: Sebastien Bourdais, driver of the #18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda, races through a turn during the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 12, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fl. Bourdais won the season-opening event. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg starts the 2018 IndyCar season off on a very different note. Here’s what to watch for in IndyCar from St. Pete.

Sunday brings the Verizon IndyCar Series back to Florida, but the 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg won’t look like any season opener that IndyCar fans have seen before.

Much has changed since last season. There’s a new car, new drivers, old drivers on new teams, and generally a sense that IndyCar is in transition. St. Petersburg won’t be just the first race of the year; it’ll be the first race for everyone to figure out how everything works, and where each team is going.

That makes it all the more important a race if you’re an IndyCar fan, because it will be your formal first look at the 2018 aero kit and the 2018 driver lineup. So many things are different, and by the end of the weekend, we’ll know who was able to adapt quickly and who is going to need more time to get toward the top.

Let’s break the race down in our Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg preview.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH:

  • The 2018 aero kit: Fans know from the carnage that was St. Petersburg the last time aero kits were changed that this track is not friendly to new technology. Hopefully, this year we won’t have a bunch of winglets flying all over the place, but it’s still very much worth keeping an eye on to see how the cars physically hold up once they’re racing.
  • Who’s not here: Helio Castroneves retired from IndyCar between seasons and is now part of the Team Penske sportscar program. His absence will definitely impact competition, as Helio was usually running somewhere in the front third of the field and mixing up things with the other drivers. Also missing: Conor Daly, Jack Hawksworth, Carlos Munoz.
  • Bringing back the Bourdais: The defending race winner is Sebastien Bourdais, who looked very sharp at St. Pete last season — and then never got to see what could’ve been as his injury knocked him out for most of the 2017 campaign. Can he get off to a similarly hot start this year and then have the season he should’ve had before?

THREE DRIVERS TO WATCH:

  • Josef Newgarden: Newgarden became the Great American Hope of open-wheel racing last season when he won the 2017 IndyCar championship. What’s he going to do for an encore? Because the scariest thought is the realization that we still probably haven’t seen the best of Josef Newgarden.
  • Ryan Hunter-Reay: The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is RHR’s home race, as he’s a Florida resident. Hunter-Reay had a rough 2017 campaign that could’ve been a lot better if he hadn’t been bitten by some bad luck. So he ought to rebound in 2018, and his home state would be a perfect place to do it.
  • Gabby Chaves: Let’s welcome back the 2015 IndyCar Rookie of the Year and 2014 Indy Lights champion as a full-time IndyCar driver. Chaves got short-changed, losing his ride the same year he won ROY honors purely because of financial issues. This is the second chance he’s always deserved, but can his new team Harding Racing contend with the bigger teams? We’ll find out, and you can also read our interview with Gabby Chaves.

Next: Gabby Chaves talks about his IndyCar return

The 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is Sunday, March 11 at 12:30 p.m. ET. For full coverage of the 2018 IndyCar season, follow the Motor Sports category at FanSided.