What Scott Dixon proved heading into 25th IndyCar season

Reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou won the series’ season opener at St. Pete — but all eyes were on his teammate Scott Dixon, who completed the event without any radio communication to his team. 

Dixon’s reminder of his incredible skill will kick off our conclusions from the race this past weekend.

Scott Dixon reminds us why he’s the GOAT

Scott Dixon is entering his 25th year of competition in American open-wheel racing — which means that he’s been racing for longer than the current IndyCar championship has existed. And the Kiwi racer is still as strong as ever.

On Sunday, at IndyCar’s opening round in St. Petersburg, Florida, Dixon finished second despite a radio failure that meant he was wholly unable to communicate with his pit box or his spotters. For just about any other drivers in the field, this would have spelled disaster.

For Dixon, it meant he finished second instead of winning the race.

The driver of the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing machine managed his own fuel and tire strategy in what was the first St. Pete race to feature hybrid power units, and he was able to keep his nose clean in the narrow confines of a street circuit. If you had pinpointed this year as the one where things fall apart for Dixon, it might be time to amend your predictions.

Expect some familiar faces at the front of the field

The top three drivers at St. Pete were Alex Palou, Scott Dixon, and Josef Newgarden — three of the best drivers in the series, all of them champions. Just behind was Scott McLaughlin, a newer member of Team Penske but one of the emerging stars of IndyCar.

If you were hoping that the 2025 season might bring with it some big shake-ups in the running order, you’ll want to temper those expectations. IndyCar is a highly contentious series, and it’s one that could very well bring a new winner to the fore this year. But when it comes to the championship, it’d be a smart idea to bet on the names we already know to be successful.

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IndyCar’s much-hyped FOX move falls flat

This year marks a much-hyped transition from NBC to FOX when it comes to IndyCar’s broadcast rights, but fans hoping for a smash hit were likely left a bit disappointed.

Part of the hype was built by FOX itself, which filmed some incredibly fun, punchy promos introducing fans to drivers like Newgarden, Alex Palou, and Pato O’Ward — but that same level of pizzazz didn’t quite make it to the broadcast.

A highlight, of course, was former F1 commentator Will Buxton, whose informative and entertaining voice led a strong booth. The main issues came with a lack of graphics packages or strong camera direction, leading to a production that raised more questions than answers when it came to the racing we saw on TV.

Prema Racing should be proud of a challenging debut

Since 1983, Italian motorsport outfit Prema has been competing in various forms of European open-wheel racing, and this year, it made the call to enter the IndyCar series. While it’d be a little over the top to expect them to, say, win their debut race in a brand-new series, St. Pete turned out to be perhaps more challenging than expected.

Much like Dixon, the team struggled to sustain radio communications with its drivers — but unlike Dixon, drivers Robert Shwartzman and Callum Ilott couldn’t be expected to manage their own race. That meant a lack of practice heading into qualifying, which meant both drivers had a lot to learn on race day.

In St. Pete, the team kept its nose clean and stayed out of trouble, which meant both drivers completed the race and earned the experience they’ll need to bolster them throughout the season. There are sure to be growing pains, but the team’s ample experience in the motorsport realm should serve it well.

Colton Herta’s F1 hopes keep falling apart

When it comes to selecting a driver lineup for its incoming Formula 1 operation, Cadillac has made it clear that it’s looking to hire one qualified American driver to enter F1 in 2026. Andretti Global IndyCar driver Colton Herta has largely topped that list — but he’s already got an uphill battle to climb.

Herta’s primary issue is his lack of a super license; he hasn’t amassed enough points to qualify for one, which means his performance this year will be critical in helping him make that happen. But his 16th-place finish at St. Pete hasn’t exactly set a great tone for his year.

Now, it wasn’t Herta’s fault; in one single pit stop, his right rear tire didn’t seat correctly, and he didn’t take on enough fuel in the chaos. The long stop was exacerbated by the need to stop again, this time to take on enough fuel to last the rest of the race.

But those are the kind of mistakes that have plagued Herta’s IndyCar career — the very ones that have kept race wins and otherwise strong performances out of his reach. If he’s looking to make it to F1 in the near future, he’s going to have to start digging himself out of this hole early.

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