Written by Dan Jones, Edited by Morgan Holiday
As we've become accustomed to in recent seasons, it was Álex Palou who once again found himself in victory line for IndyCar's Grand Prix of Thermal as he became the first driver to claim victory in the opening two races of the season since Scott Dixon in 2020. DIVEBOMB IndyCar Correspondent, Dan Jones, graded all 27 driver's weekends from the action at The Thermal Club.
Chip Ganassi Racing
Álex Palou: A+
I can't ever recall an IndyCar weekend with so strong a collective belief in who would end up in victory lane on Sunday - especially on a road or street event, and that belief is a testament to the racer that Palou has become. His final stint to hound down Pato O'Ward for victory was truly mesmerising as he builds a substantial 39 point championship lead. It was a collective shock when he didn't claim pole on Saturday, but Palou did what he did best on Sunday with a faultless drive, executing his strategy to perfection - very worthy of the top grades.
Scott Dixon: B-
With the entire pre-race talk being based on strategy, there was an inkling that Dixon could well be the one to pull the rabbit out the hat once again. But it wasn't to be for Dixon, who in truth, was fairly anonymous all weekend. An 11th place in qualifying was respectable, however, Dixon would drop back early on before a late race charge put him to tenth at the flag. It wasn't a disastrous day, but we all know Dixon can do better.
Kyffin Simpson: B-
There wasn't much to report on Simpson's weekend at Thermal, qualifying 20th and finishing 15th. He kept his nose clean and saw the chequered, most importantly, however he still doesn't meet the standards of his multi-time champion teammates.
Team Penske
Will Power: B+
This weekend was an unusual one for Team Penske, who were extraordinarily off the pace by their standards. Power would slump to 21st in qualifying - Penske's worst collectively since Portland 2021. However, Power, who remains under pressure for his No.12 drive for 2026, was the race's top mover and worked his way through the field excellently, gaining 15 positions. After a terrible start to the season, this is exactly the result that Power needed.
Josef Newgarden: C
A hideous weekend for Team Penske was compounded by Newgarden's anonymity all weekend long. An 18th in Practice 1 and 16th in Practice 2 before a dismal 17th in qualifying summed up Penske and Newgarden's weekend. After a great start to the season at St. Petersburg, they'll want to put this one behind them quickly.
Scott McLaughlin: D
This weekend couldn't have been much worse for McLaughlin. He spun on his banker lap in qualifying before finishing bottom of his group. He was the unfortunate victim of Devlin DeFrancesco's clumsiness on the opening lap, which put him several seconds behind the pack before a hybrid issue forced him to retire. A disastrous weekend, and one that McLaughlin cannot afford to repeat.
Andretti Global
Colton Herta: A-
It's this kind of weekend that has moved Herta from being a flash-in-the-pan to one of the best drivers in the series. Andretti seemed quick all weekend - with three cars in the top four in opening practice, but Herta established himself as the lead of the trio throughout the weekend quickly. We didn't see much of Herta, however, these quiet top five results will pay off in a championship run long-term, particularly after a difficult St. Petersburg.
Kyle Kirkwood: B+
It was once again a quiet but very solid weekend showing from Kirkwood, who finds himself as the lead Andretti driver in the standings. After qualifying eighth, Kirkwood ran fourth for the majority of the day but slipped back late on to finish where he started. Wasn't a stellar weekend by any means, but Kirkwood still showed well throughout.
Marcus Ericsson: C-
St. Petersburg seemed to mark the Ericsson of years past, but Thermal marked the same Ericsson who had a recently disappointing 2024. The Swede qualified an excellent fifth, but he went off on the opening lap before spinning all by himself at Turn 16 mid-way. It's these sorts of mistakes that plagued Ericsson last year and he can't afford them to be a recurring theme.
Arrow McLaren
Pato O'Ward: A
O'Ward will be bitterly disappointed to have not stood on the top step at The Thermal Club, however, he can still take plenty of positives from the weekend after a difficult St. Petersburg. O'Ward's pole at Thermal was his first in three years - an important record to finally break, and an excellent drive from the front on Sunday solidified that performance. He ultimately couldn't stop the brilliance of Palou - but can anybody? It's not the result O'Ward was after, but an impressive weekend nonetheless.
Christian Lundgaard: A
I might be jumping the gun a little here, but it seems like Arrow McLaren have finally found a teammate who can compliment O'Ward in the form of Lundgaard. The Dane started life at McLaren well at St. Petersburg, but his Thermal weekend was impressive as well, topping practice, and lining-up alongside O'Ward in the front row, capped off with his first podium in papaya which was mightily deserved.
Nolan Siegel: C
McLaren looked fast all weekend at The Thermal Club, as shown by both Lundgaard and O'Ward, but Siegel did not have the pace shown by his teammates throughout the weekend, qualifying 16th and finishing 19th. Considering the performance showed by the team throughout, you can only think there was more on the table for Siegel.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Graham Rahal: B
An 11th place at Thermal represents Rahal's best finish in six races, and after being worryingly off the pace in the early stages of opening practice, it was not a bad result for Rahal after qualifying 18th as the Ohio native finished as the top RLL driver.
Devlin DeFrancesco: D-
It was a disastrous weekend for DeFrancesco. The Canadian qualified second-to-last in his group, only ahead of Robert Shwartzman, who hadn't run a lap all weekend by that point, before clumsily ploughing into the side of Scott McLaughlin at the race start earning him a drive-through. A calamitous weekend all-round.
Louis Foster: B
After effectively a non-weekend in St. Petersburg, Foster showed well at The Thermal Club, most notably reaching the Fast 12 for the first time and qualifying 10th. Foster would work his way up to eighth early on, however, he burned through his rubber and fell like a stone quickly. It's a natural rookie learning experience and there are plenty of benefits to take from Foster's first complete weekend.
Meyer Shank Racing
Felix Rosenqvist: A-
It was yet another quietly good weekend for Rosenqvist and Meyer Shank Racing, as the Swede claimed his best finish since Barber last year. Rosenqvist once again featured in the Fast 12, and moved into the top five with a late move on Kirkwood. Rosenqvist's fortunes took a turn late last year, but he and MSR are starting to get the results they deserve.
Marcus Armstrong: B+
After a disappointing St. Petersburg finish - brought on by Armstrong's own mistake - the Kiwi bounced back excellently at Thermal, once again qualifying well in seventh before a quiet but mature drive to finish seventh. It's been an encouraging start to life at MSR for Armstrong, who importantly got his first finish on the board.
Ed Carpenter Racing
Alexander Rossi: A-
Early life for Rossi and Ed Carpenter Racing continues to be encouraging. Despite constant hybrid issues all weekend, Rossi qualified an above-the-odds sixth, before running in the top five in the opening stint. Attempting the overcut would kill Rossi's momentum and would see him fall back to ninth. All in all, however, the team continues to make excellent progress with Rossi in the car.
Christian Rasmussen: B
It was a quiet, but very decent Thermal weekend for Rasmussen, who qualified 19th before coming home in 12th. Several decisive passes continued to display Rasmussen's aggressive but controlled racecraft as he climbed seven positions despite a hybrid issue. He remains off the pace of his much more experienced teammate, but results are picking up for the Dane.
A.J. Foyt Racing
Santino Ferrucci: B-
A.J. Foyt Racing's upturn in form in 2024 has not carried over to the opening rounds of 2025, with Ferrucci claiming consecutive 14th place finishes to start the season. One of many to have hybrid issues, Ferrucci narrowly missed out on the transfer, but Foyt are not showing themselves as the championship contender that Ferrucci claimed they would be.
David Malukas: C+
It hasn't been quite the start to life at A.J. Foyt Racing that many hoped David Malukas would have. He did progress into the Fast 12, however, he went on to finish a lowly 18th, just avoiding being lapped. After a good Sunday for Power, Malukas will need to step things up in coming races.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
Conor Daly: B-
Daly was one of few on the grid to have not raced at Thermal in the $1 Million Challenge last year, but qualified a respectable 15th when considered he was in the much tougher Group 1, before coming home in 16th. Another unremarkable day for Daly, but he still has the upper hand on teammate, Sting Ray Robb.
Sting Ray Robb: C-
Nothing much to note from Robb's weekend. He was seven tenths off teammate Daly in qualifying, as he lined up 24th before finishing a measly 23rd, still not the standards you'd expect of a third year driver.
Dale Coyne Racing
Rinus VeeKay: B
Although VeeKay didn't have the results to show for it, it was once again another great weekend for the Dutchman as he adapts to life at Dale Coyne Racing. 13th in qualifying matched the team's best qualifying performance in 2024, and VeeKay ran in the top ten for large portions of the race. Continual encouraging signs for IndyCar's smallest team.
Jacob Abel: C
There's still a lot of learning for Abel to do in an Indy car as shown at The Thermal Club. The Kentucky native finished bottom in both practice sessions, although he was faster than five drivers in qualifying. His race would come undone after a pit speed violation on Lap 17 saw him penalised. He still has some work to do pace-wise, however, progress is clearly being made.
PREMA Racing
Robert Shwartzman: B+
It's incredibly hard to fairly rate a weekend with the misfortune Shwartzman had. A fuel cell issue ignited his PREMA, forcing a chassis change that meant he didn't get a single lap complete until qualifying - which even then was a remarkable effort. He was unsurprisingly off the pace in qualifying but gained a remarkable 10 places early on in the race before an issue in the pits undid his hard work. A frustrating weekend, but Shwartzman certainly showed what he can do in his limited running.
Callum Ilott: D+
It was all-round a tough weekend for PREMA and Ilott. The Brit qualified 22nd, but got caught up in the opening turn as he piled into the back of his teammate sending him airborne and detaching his front wing. That incident effectively ended Ilott's day in a miserable weekend for PREMA.
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