While cars don’t get on track until tomorrow morning, the 22nd Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg officially began with the Chamber of Commerce Green Flag VIP and Media luncheon late Thursday morning.

Drivers from IndyCar, Indy NXT, NASCAR Trucks, and Mazda MX5 attended. USF2000 will also compete.

Seven IndyCar drivers – Will Power, Felix Rosenqvisrt, Marcus Armstrong, Dennis Hauger, Alex Palou, Ro Grosjean, and Scott McLaughlin attended the event.

I spoke to Felix Rosenqvist before the lunch. He told me that he had a good off season, and he is excited to welcome his first child in May. Rosenqvist likes the 2026 schedule’s fierce start with four races in five weeks.

“We all have all this energy at the start of the season, so mit’s good to get tomusee it every week, “he said.

Felix thought Phoenix was a fun track to drive, but he isn’t sure how it will race until all carsare on track racing.

The lunch event reflects the growth of the grand prix. Each year it seems better attended than the previous year. Today’ lunch was easily the most celebratory I have seen.

It’s great to be back in St. Pete to open the season, although it seems weird to come here as a visitor rather than as someone who lives just an hour away,

Look for my race preview tomorrow morning.