Rahal, Foster and Schumacher Ready to Start the 2026 INDYCAR Season at the Firestone GP of St. Pete

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Pre-Race Notes
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida
Round 1 of 18 in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Season

DATE:     Friday – Sunday, February 27 – March 1, 2026

PRACTICE BROADCASTS:     Live on FS2 on Friday from 1:30–3:00 p.m. ET, live on FS1 on Saturday from 9:30–11:00 a.m. ET and live on FS1 on Sunday from 9:00–10:00 a.m. ET.  Also live on the INDYCAR Radio Network (IRN) and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis).

QUALIFYING BROADCAST:     Live on FS2, the IRN and www.indycar.com (timing & scoring + live analysis) from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. ET Saturday.

RACE BROADCAST:     Live on FOX Sunday, March 1 from 12:00-2:30 p.m. ET. And also on IRN Sirius XM INDYCAR Nation 218.

TRACK LAYOUT:     1.8-mile, 14-turn street course
RACE LENGTH:     100 laps / 181 miles
2025 WINNER:     Alex Palou
2025 POLESITTER:     Scott McLaughlin (59.4624; 108.976 mph)

RLL’S TOP START / FINISH AT ST. PETE:     5th by Sato in 2018 / 2nd by Rahal in 2018; will be team’s 19th event here

RAHAL’S BEST START / FINISH IN ST. PETE:     1st in 2009 / 1st in 2008 – both with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing; will be his 19th race here
RAHAL’S HIGHEST SERIES START / FINISH:     5 Poles – St. Pete (street) 2009, Kansas (oval) 2009, Detroit (street) 2017, IMS (road) 2023, Portland (road) 2023 / 6 Wins – St. Pete 2008, Fontana (oval; 500 miles) 2015, Mid-Ohio (road) 2015, Texas (oval) 2016; Detroit Race 1 (street) 2017, Detroit Race 2 2017

FOSTER’S BEST START / FINISH IN ST. PETE:     16th in his series debut here in 2025 / 27th after being taken out on the first lap; Will be his second start here
FOSTER’S BEST SERIES START / FINISH:     Pole at Road America 2025 / 11th (Indy GP and Road America 2025)

SCHUMACHER’S BEST START / FINISH IN ST. PETE:     This will be his series debut.
SCHUMACHER’S HIGHEST SERIES START / FINISH:     This will be his series debut.

NEWS & NOTES:

RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING AT ST. PETE
The 2026 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will mark the 19th INDYCAR SERIES race for Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL) Racing in St. Petersburg. The team has entered the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda for Graham Rahal, the No. 45 Droplight Honda for Louis Foster and the No. 47 Honda for Mick Schumacher. The team led 11 laps with Takuma Sato in 2012 and four laps with Hunter-Reay in 2008 (G. Rahal won w/NHLR that year) and has earned eight top-10 finishes. The highest starting position by the team is fifth place by Takuma Sato and highest finish is second by Graham Rahal – both in 2018.

MAKING HISTORY IN ST. PETE – GRAHAM RAHAL
In 2026, Graham will make his 19th Indy car start at this track. His best start here is pole in 2009 and best finish is a win in 2008 in his INDYCAR SERIES debut – both history-making moments at the time as he became the youngest race winner in series history (2008), and youngest pole winner in series history (2009). Both records were eclipsed in 2019 by Colton Herta, but he held them for 10 and 11 years, respectively. Overall, he has earned one top five, and seven top 10 starts here and has two top five and seven top 10 finishes, including sixth place here in 2023. Year-by-year details are available upon request. Last year, he started 21st here and finished 12th. Race engineer Yves Touron returns for his second year in the capacity, as does chief mechanic, TJ Thompson, who moved up to the position in 2025.
“I’m excited to start the year; I think we’ve got a really good group of guys and gals on this team and some new faces. There are a lot of people that have put a ton of work in, in the off season and I expect some great things out of us as we go forward. I’m excited about that. From our standpoint, we want to have a lot of success this year and that starts at St. Pete – a place we love and are familiar with. I had a fairly good run last year. There were a couple of issues that kind of prevented us from being up a little bit higher in the pecking order though. We’ve always been relatively competitive in St. Pete; we were good on road and street courses last year as the year went on and so I feel like we have a lot of reasons to feel positive about it and that’s what our objectives are going to be.
(On changes to the tire usage rules for the race:) “I think mandating the use of the alternate tire for two stints is going to make a big difference because in some of the races last year, the alternates just didn’t last at all last year. It could be quite interesting and throw the race strategy in the blender quite a bit, but I think that’s what fans want to see. It could add more pit stops for sure in some of these races, but we’ll see how it all plays out. It definitely gives the teams and fans an added element to follow.
“I feel like we’ve fundamentally done a good job to prepare for the season and feel like we’re in a good spot. The tests we have done have gone in a great way and consistent pattern which is a positive. We’re looking forward to getting to St. Pete to see how everyone stacks up.”

SOPHOMORE SEASON ON TAP FOR 2025 INDYCAR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR FOSTER
Louis Foster backed up his 2024 INDY NXT Champion status with that of 2025 INDYCAR Rookie of the Year and is looking to expand on his experience in 2026. The 22-year-old was set to make his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut in St. Pete last year from a 16th place start but was collected in an opening lap incident that also forced the retirement of 11th place starter Nolan Siegel and 13th place Will Power so he is looking to get a full INDYCAR race under his belt this weekend. In INDY NXT, Foster started on pole in St. Pete in 2023 and finished 14th and started fourth and earned a third-place podium finish in 2024. Prior to that, he competed in the Indy Pro 2000 doubleheader here in 2022 with a third-place finish in Race 1 and a second-place finish in Race 2. He has realistic goals for 2026 as he did for his rookie season that saw him and the team surprise the field with his maiden pole at Road America. He’s ready to get his sophomore season underway.
“I’m looking forward to going back to St. Pete; it’s a great street circuit and great event. I think we had good pace last year, especially for my first ever INDYCAR race. I think with a year under my belt, a bit more confidence in the car and an understanding of the series, we should have a good weekend.
(On alternate tire rule:) “I think it will make the races a bit more interesting with how soft the tire is. I think all teams are a little bit unsure how it will play out. We’ll just have to wait and see how it plays out and continue to learn how to maximize the situation.
(On his goals for 2026:) “As a whole for this year, my personal goals would be to get a podium and a top 15 in the championship. I think those are two realistic goals and if we can achieve that as a team, that would set us up nicely for the following years. Really, we’d like to do as well as possible obviously. A win would be lovely but if we can get a podium and a top 15 by the end of the year, I would be content.”

SCHUMACHER MAKES HIS INDYCAR DEBUT
After much anticipation, Mick Schumacher is days away from making his INDYCAR SERIES debut. His first experience in an Indy car took place at the IMS road course on October 13 and he was announced as an RLL driver for 2026 on November 24. The month of February has been an intense one for Schumacher who performed his first test on an oval at Homestead-Miami Speedway on February 4, followed that up with his first test with the full INDYCAR field at Sebring on February 9-10 and participated in his first INDYCAR Open Test at Phoenix International Raceway, February 17-18. While that may sound like a lot of track time, in reality it was approx. four days for him to accelerate his learning curve with the car, team, and one of the most diverse series formats that include races on road courses, street courses, short ovals and superspeedways. He is ready for the next step: the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
“We’re all excited to get going. We’ve been talking about it for a while and finally we’re at a point where we’re actually going racing so it’s good. It’s obviously going to be the first time for me to drive in St. Pete. I’ve done a couple of runs in the simulator before, but I think it’s always going to be a bit different once you get to the real track. But we’re doing a lot of good things and I’m excited to get going and learn more throughout the year.
(On what would be a successful weekend for him at St. Pete:) “I don’t really put any specific goals for myself. I think the aim is just to go in and be comfortable; be in a good place with the car and be in a good place with the team and just continue to build the relationship and trust and then go from there. A positive weekend would look like we’re all going away with a smile on our face and not with a sad face. We’re all very keen to get going. I know the team has been working so hard to get everything ready for it. I’m very excited to start this journey.”