Defending IndyCar champion Will Power will be looking to go back-to-back when the 2023 season kicks off with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg this weekend but he’s expecting a strong showing from the field.
Power has stated he expects his main challenges to come from both his own team and the likes of Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR), Andretti Autosport and Arrow McLaren Racing. Drivers on those four teams alone have a combined 149 series race wins, including all 17 last year.
New Zealander’s Scott Dixon and Marcus Armstrong compete for CGR whilst Scott McLaughlin races alongside Power at Team Penske.
“Apart from my two teammates, I want to say Palou is probably going to be the toughest other guy,” Power said. “Who knows if (Colton) Herta gets some real good consistency. It’s very difficult to say. Dixon is always there, but I feel Palou is a faster version of Dixon because he’s extremely fast and consistent. But I think obviously both are extremely good drivers.
“The field is full of extremely good drivers.”
The Streets of St. Petersburg have been good to McLaughlin in past being the same circuit where he picked up his maiden victory just last year. He went on to take two further victories over the year to finish fourth overall.
It’ll be a tough ask to go back-to-back in Florida for the three-time Supercars Champion with 26 other cars lining up on the grid, including 14 former race winners.
One of those is of course Kiwi motorsport great Dixon, the six-time champion who has an incredible 52 race wins to his name. He’s not failed to win at least one race per season for the past 18 campaigns, the most equal with Mario Andretti.
Armstrong rounds out the Kiwi contingent in action, making his series debut off the back of two years in Formula 2. He joins Sting Ray Robb, Benjamin Pedersen and Agustin Canapino as one of four rookies on the grid.
Individual accolades may be the order of the season for Armstrong who will only compete on road and street courses for the outfit for the year.
This has been strategy of several teams in recent history, Dale Coyne Racing running the same strategy with former F1 driver Romain Grosjean when he entered the series in 2021. Grosjean did eventually end up running in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 to gain oval experience. He now competes full-time in the series.
If Power’s predictions are correct it leaves a dozen drivers in with a shot at success in 2023 who will all be hunting down the Australian to get the better of him this time around. He’s not phased by the target on his back, however, saying all will be revealed this weekend.
“Every year it’s the moment of truth to see where you stack up,” said Power. “It’s very important to get off to a good start. (I’m) usually anxious two weeks before (the first race), then as it becomes race week all of the anxiety goes away because you’re relaxed and ready to go, knowing all of the work is over for the offseason and you get to do the job that you love so much.”
The IndyCar Grand Prix of St Petersburg begins at 6am on Monday and will shown live on Sky Sport 5 (055).
Header Image: Scott McLaughlin crosses the line first in the 2022 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Image: IndyCar
