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Indycar 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg results: Sebastien Bourdais wins

By Brittany Frederick

SAINT PETERSBURG, FL - MARCH 10: Sebastien Bourdais, of France, drives the
SAINT PETERSBURG, FL - MARCH 10: Sebastien Bourdais, of France, drives the /
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The 2018 IndyCar season started Sunday with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and Sebastien Bourdais stole victory from Robert Wickens.

The Verizon IndyCar Series fired up its engines on Sunday for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and based on this season opener, the 2018 IndyCar season is going to be like no other season we’ve seen before.

As teams had their first race with the new IndyCar, there were also seven rookie drivers looking to get off to a hot start. Robert Wickens of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports led the field to green, after three rookies made the Firestone Fast Six in a messy Saturday qualifying.

But before the first lap ended, second-place starter Will Power and Tony Kanaan had both spun in separate incidents. Power dropped out of the Top 10 while Ryan Hunter-Reay had a problem with his ECR that mandated an early pit stop.

Two laps later Charlie Kimball stalled in his debut for the new Carlin Racing team, and on lap seven Spencer Pigot and Graham Rahal made contact, causing Pigot to stall as well. St. Petersburg has a reputation for being a wild opener for the IndyCar Series, and Sunday’s race lived up to that.

Kanaan’s A.J. Foyt Racing teammate Matheus Leist was the first person to retire in the season, as his car failed to turn and hit the Turn 4 wall. Leist had previously been in the pits after the No. 4 car was stuck in gear, spoiling a promising third-place start. And this was all before Lap 30.

Four-time champion Scott Dixon saw his day upended when he lost control of his No. 9 entry on a slick runway, went briefly airborne and collided with Takuma Sato. In addition to stalling as a result of the incident, Dixon was penalized for avoidable contact and sent to the back of the field. Judge it for yourself below:

https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/972887415290548224

Wickens remained in the lead for most of the race, so the drama at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was happening behind him until the closing frame. Fresh off his appearance on The Amazing Race, Alexander Rossi ran strong throughout the day in his newly re-numbered 27 car.

When rookie Rene Binder hit the wall with nine laps to go, Rossi was able to close up on Wickens and make the final laps competitive. The race didn’t go green until four laps to go, at which point Wickens was able to stay in front. But another stall, this time by Max Chilton, forced one more flag and brought the 2018 IndyCar season opener down to the absolute wire.

But on the last restart Rossi made contact with Wickens from behind, causing Wickens to spin and yes, stall. Their incident opened the door for third-place Sebastien Bourdais to shoot ahead and win under yellow—winning at St. Petersburg for the second time in two years.

Watch the surprise ending below.

https://twitter.com/IndyCar/status/972909306080387072

Below are the complete 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg results:

  1. Sebastien Bourdais
  2. Graham Rahal
  3. Alexander Rossi
  4. James Hinchcliffe
  5. Ryan Hunter-Reay
  6. Scott Dixon
  7. Josef Newgarden
  8. Ed Jones
  9. Marco Andretti
  10. Will Power
  11. Tony Kanaan
  12. Takuma Sato
  13. Simon Pagenaud
  14. Gabby Chaves
  15. Spencer Pigot
  16. Zach Veach
  17. Zachary Claman De Melo
  18. Robert Wickens
  19. Max Chilton
  20. Charlie Kimball
  21. Jordan King
  22. Rene Binder
  23. Jack Harvey
  24. Mateus Leist

Next: IndyCar welcomes back Gabby Chaves

The next Verizon IndyCar Series race is the Phoenix Grand Prix from Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday, March 7. For complete IndyCar coverage, follow the Motor Sports category at FanSided.