Power Rankings: Guess Who Is Still No. 1?

Editor’s Note: Power Rankings is a feature after every NTT INDYCAR SERIES race in which INDYCAR.com staff writer Eric Smith ranks the top 10 current drivers in the series based on objective recent and season-long performance statistics and the subjective “eye test” from race weekends.

Alex Palou dominated the Power Rankings the past two seasons, claiming the top spot after winning the $1 Million Thermal Club Challenge on March 24, 2024. He never relinquished the lead that year or throughout last season and enters 2026 in the top position again.

Palou burst out of the gates in 2026 with a season-opening victory Sunday, March 1 in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Here are the drivers joining Palou in the first Power Rankings of 2026:

10. David Malukas (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet)

Malukas showed speed in practice (ninth and sixth) at St. Petersburg, qualified fifth and finished 13th. His day was compromised when he had an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 12 after flat-spotting his Firestone Firehawk tires the previous lap while running sixth. He rallied to salvage what could have been a far worse result.

9. Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet)

Newgarden said the race was his best session of the weekend -- and he was right. He climbed from 23rd to seventh, earning the Jostens Hard Charger Award. Newgarden said postrace that working through a difficult practice and qualifying session could benefit the team long term as it continues to build chemistry.

8. Dennis Hauger (No. 19 Ault Block Chain Honda)

Hauger made a statement by qualifying third and advancing to the Firestone Fast Six. The Norwegian followed that with a 10th-place finish in his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES start. The 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone champion is the first rookie to appear in the Power Rankings.

7. Romain Grosjean (No. 18 BMax Honda)

Grosjean qualified sixth and finished eighth in a solid return to full-time competition. He spent his partial rookie season with Dale Coyne Racing before moving to Andretti Global in 2022-23 and Juncos Hollinger Racing in 2024. Last year, the Swiss-born Frenchman served as a driver coach with PREMA Racing and raced in IMSA. Grosjean believes a breakout season is possible in his second stint with DCR. In 15 starts with the team as a rookie in 2021, he earned two runner-up finishes and a pole. He appears to have picked up where he left off.

6. Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)

O’Ward qualified eighth and finished fifth in Sunday’s 100-lap race. He was second in points last season, and while his opening weekend was relatively quiet, he earned his third top-five finish in the last four years at St. Petersburg. This is the 19th consecutive race weekend O’Ward has been ranked. He ended the 2025 season ranked third and was in the top five the final 12 race weekends.

5. Marcus Ericsson (No. 28 Delaware Life Honda)

Ericsson qualified second and finished sixth. While not the result he wanted, it marked needed progress. The Swede finished 15th and 20th in points, respectively, in his first two seasons with Andretti Global. In the three years prior at Chip Ganassi Racing, he earned four victories and finished sixth in points each year. After one weekend, Ericsson and the team appear significantly improved. He ranked seventh after St. Petersburg last year but dropped out the next race and never returned to the Power Rankings.

4. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda)

Kirkwood started 15th and finished fourth, his best result in five St. Petersburg starts. The Florida native ran as high as second but lost pace as his tires wore, slipping to fourth with seven laps remaining. A qualifying issue Saturday led to a first-round elimination, but the race pace was evident.

3. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)

Lundgaard ended 2025 as one of the series’ strongest drivers and opens 2026 in similar form. He charged from 12th to finish third at St. Petersburg. The Dane was quickest in Saturday’s practice and 10th Friday. After two runner-up finishes in the final four races last season, he begins the new year with a podium. He ended 2025 in the top five of the Power Rankings after the final four races, reaching as high as second after the Aug. 10 race at Portland International Raceway.

2. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet)

McLaughlin opened 2026 the same way he started 2025 — with an NTT P1 Award. This time, he converted it into a runner-up finish instead of fourth. He led 34 laps Sunday. McLaughlin was quickest in Friday’s practice and seventh Saturday. He begins the Power Rankings in the same position he ended last year – second.

1. Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)

Palou has won the last three championships and opened this season with another victory. He led a race-high 59 of 100 laps Sunday at St. Petersburg. Until someone proves otherwise, the top spot belongs to him.