IndyCar roars into its season opener at St. Petersburg as Alex Palou chases a 4th straight title

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — IndyCar opens its season with a roaring four races in March, a return to Phoenix Raceway, three new venues and the son of a motorsports icon making his debut in a North American-based series.

Oh, and Alex Palou will be racing for his fifth championship in six years.

The season begins Sunday on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg with a field of 25 drivers led by defending race winner Palou. The Spaniard kicked off his title campaign on the street course a year ago with the win, the first of eight victories that included the Indianapolis 500 and a third consecutive IndyCar title.

He's back with his Chip Ganassi Racing team intact, the breach of contract lawsuit with McLaren decided, and his eyes on another title. If he wins a fourth-straight, Palou would join Sebastien Bourdais as the only driver in series history to accomplish the feat.

“I think 2025 was so strange, so good, so magical ... it’s very hard to get there. That doesn’t mean that nobody can or that I cannot do it again, but you need so many things to go right to get eight wins, to win the 500, to win the championship,” Palou said. “Although I would love to have another season like 2025, I am pretty certain that it’s probably not going to happen again for me. But I’ll try. I’ll try.”

His competition will come from within — teammate Scott Dixon, a six-time IndyCar champion, is looking to rebound from last year's one-win season — as well as traditional heavyweight Team Penske. McLaren hopes to be a contender after Pato O'Ward finished second in the standings last year, and Andretti Global has been bolstered by the addition of former Penske stalwart Will Power and other key hires.

Many eyes will be on Power, who turns 45 on Sunday, same day as his first IndyCar race driving for someone other than Roger Penske since 2009. He was replaced in the Penske lineup by David Malukas, who at 24 has a longer runway than Power.

But Power was quickly snapped up by aggressive new Andretti owner Dan Towriss, who also hired Ron Ruzewski, one of three Team Penske executives fired after an Indianapolis 500 inspection infraction, as team principal of its IndyCar team. Ruzewski and Power know Team Penske inside and out and bring priceless knowledge to an Andretti organization that last won the IndyCar title in 2012.

“It’s really difficult to understand, like, are we missing anything? Are we good or bad? We won’t know that until we actually have our first race,” Power said. “But the end of the first race weekend you’ll start to see, as you always do, ‘OK, we need to work on this, this, this and this.’”

Power won Penske its last IndyCar championship in 2022 and the organization is trying to rebound from a rough season last year. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden didn't win until the season finale and finished 12th in the standings, while teammate Scott McLaughlin went winless but was ninth in the standings.

“We’ve just got to focus on being more consistent. It’s kind of simple to say that, but that’s just what it will come down to," Newgarden said. "If we don’t want to finish 12th in the standings, we’ve got to finish more races.”

IndyCar has a healthy 18-race schedule this year, the most events since the 2014 season, and for the first time in years the series won't go weeks between the opener and the next race.

Penske, who owns IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was able to get a record four races in March by joining NASCAR next weekend for a return to Phoenix. IndyCar last raced at Phoenix in 2018, a race won by Newgarden.

From Phoenix the series goes to the inaugural event on the Streets of Arlington in a collaboration with Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. IndyCar closes out the month at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.

Arlington is one of three new venues on the schedule as IndyCar will move away from downtown Toronto to race on the streets of Markham, Ontario, and a President Donald Trump-backed event in Washington, D.C., to mark the 250th birthday of the United States.

The season will end Sept. 6 with the finale back at Laguna Seca for the first time since 2023.

IndyCar typically features a few new faces every year but none come with the name recognition that Mick Schumacher brings.

Schumacher is the son of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher and has made the move away from F1 after three seasons without a ride. He drove for Haas in F1 and became a Mercedes reserve driver after losing that seat at the end of 2022.

He hasn't made an F1 start since and instead competed in the World Endurance Championship. Now the 26-year-old German will give North American open wheel racing a try with a seat at Rahal Letterman Lanigan.

He'll need to quickly adapt to oval racing, which will be new to Schumacher, who said he's leaning on teammate Graham Rahal for advice.

“I’m very curious and interested in learning about that,” Schumacher said. “The good thing is we have Graham on board, who has done a couple of these races in his lifetime, and therefore I can learn very much from him.”

Coincidentally, Schumacher will be on the grid this year with Romain Grosjean, the driver he replaced at Haas in 2021. Grosjean returns to IndyCar after a year away with Dale Coyne Racing, the team that first brought him to the series in 2021.

Coyne has an entirely new lineup this year as Grosjean will pair with rookie teammate Dennis Hauger, the reigning INDY NXT champion.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

FILE - Race driver Mick Schumacher watches from the pit area as he participates in auto racing testing on the road coarse at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File(

FILE - Josef Newgarden waits for the start practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File0

FILE - Will Power, of Australia, prepares to drive during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, May 18, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

FILE - Alex Palou celebrates after winning the IndyCar championship Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

Iran and the United States are talking in Geneva for a third time on Thursday as President Donald Trump seeks to delay Tehran's nuclear program while threatening it by deploying a massive number of aircraft and warships to the Middle East.

U.S. special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, a billionaire real estate developer and friend of Trump, will meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an effort to convince his country to halt its enrichment of uranium, a key step to building a nuclear bomb, and curtail or stop its production of long-range missiles.

Iran has maintained that it will continue to enrich uranium even as its program sits in ruins following a U.S. attack in June on three of its nuclear sites. If an American attack happens, Iran has said all U.S. military bases in the Mideast will considered legitimate targets and has also threatened to attack Israel.

The latest round of negotiations is the third since Israel's 12-day war with Iran last year, and their failure could again lead to a regional war across the Middle East.

Here’s the latest:

The U.S. delegation’s willingness to continue talks with Iran reflects a positive atmosphere on a “decisive day” of nuclear talks, an Iran expert at the International Crisis Group said.

Talks are set to resume after Washington received a proposal from Tehran earlier Thursday. The meetings were behind closed doors, and details about the proposal were not disclosed.

“The reality is that there is a narrow pathway to a deal but it does require both sides to soften their red lines,” Ali Vaez told The Associated Press on the sidelines of the talks.

“It is important that the U.S. is coming back to the table and trying to get to the finish line,” he said, adding that a breakdown of diplomacy could result in an unpredictable war.

A breakthrough remains tough between the two bitter enemies, and Vaez believes it would require a “a commensurate match between dilution of stockpile and sanctions relief.”

Iran’s foreign ministry says delegates from the country and the United States have exchanged “very constructive” proposals so far in their third round of nuclear talks in Geneva.

Talks have briefly paused and are set to continue around 1630GMT Thursday as “both delegations needed to hold consultations with their respective capitals,” the ministry’s spokesperson Esmail Baghaei added.

He said they discussed proposals regarding Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief, but did not provide details.

Tehran and Washington’s indirect talks in the Swiss city included Oman’s foreign minister and the head of the International Atomic Agency, the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog. It is seen as a last chance for diplomacy. The U.S. has gathered a fleet of aircraft and warships to the Middle East to pressure Tehran into a deal.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who has been mediating the negotiations, said the two sides have been exchanging “creative and positive ideas” and will resume talks after a break.

Al Busaidi said he is hopeful that more progress can be made later Thursday when negotiations resume.

Convoys believed to be holding the Iranian and U.S. delegations left the Omani residence in Geneva after several hours of indirect negotiations starting Thursday morning.

A convoy believed to be carrying U.S. diplomats left an Omani diplomatic residence in Geneva that was hosting indirect talks with Iran over its nuclear program.

Iranian state television reported Thursday that indirect talks with the United States will resume later in the day after both sides take a break.

It wasn’t clear what the reason for the break was. The two sides had been having indirect talks for hours mediated by Oman

Both the Iranian and the American delegations had been at the residence for hours.

A prominent advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader has suggested that Iran could reach an immediate agreement in talks with the U.S. if they focused solely Iran’s commitment not to develop nuclear weapons.

“If the main issue of the negotiations is Iran’s non-development of nuclear weapons, this is consistent with the Supreme Leader’s fatwa (religious declaration) and Iran’s defense doctrine, and an immediate agreement is within reach,” Ali Shamkhani wrote on X on Thursday.

He added that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has “sufficient support and authority” to come to a final agreement in the talks.

Shamkhani was wounded in the 12-day war between Israel and Iran earlier this year.

Oman has presented Iran’s proposals to U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Thursday during the third round of nuclear negotiations taking place in Geneva, the Omani Foreign Ministry wrote on X.

The ministry published a photo of Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi with Witkoff and Kushner, signaling indirect talks are underway. The Foreign Ministry said al-Busaidi went over the U.S. inquiries and requests regarding Iran’s nuclear program and the necessary guarantees to achieve a deal, and said the talks were continuing in a “constructive” way.

Oman’s Foreign Ministry published images of U.S. special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Bader al-Busaidi.

The location appeared to be the Omani diplomatic residence in Geneva along the shores of Lake Geneva. An Associated Press journalist earlier saw two convoys believed to be carrying Iranian and U.S. diplomats arrive there.

Iran and the U.S. are meeting in Geneva for nuclear negotiations, talks viewed as a last chance for diplomacy as America has gathered a fleet of aircraft and warships to the Middle East to pressure Tehran into a deal.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Iran’s State TV that negotiations, as in previous rounds, will focus solely on the nuclear issue.

He added that the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency may also be present, similar to previous negotiations. “Our positions are clear: the lifting of sanctions and the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” Baghaei said.

A convoy believed to be carrying American diplomats arrived Thursday to the Omani residence in Geneva for indirect talks with Iran.

An Associated Press journalist saw the convoy enter the compound.

Oman’s foreign minister met Thursday with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Badr al-Busaidi’s meeting with Rafael Mariano Grossi of the IAEA comes as Iran and the United States hold indirect negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Oman’s Foreign Ministry announced the meeting, saying it came as “part of consultations and the exchange of views on technical matters related to the Iranian nuclear dossier and the new ideas currently under negotiation between the Iranian and American sides.”

The IAEA did not immediately acknowledge the meeting. The IAEA is the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, which likely would be the inspectors both countries would rely on in any possible deal.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a hardliner regarding U.S. policy on Iran, insists Iran should not be allowed to enrich uranium to any degree, and said he was in favor of regime change.

“If media reports are true that there is a consideration of allowing Iran to have very small enrichment of uranium for face-saving purposes: screw that,” the Republican senator said in a post on X late Wednesday.

Accusing Iran’s government of being “the largest state sponsor of terrorism,” the senator from South Carolina said he “could care less about efforts to save face for this regime. I would like to see the people of Iran change the regime – it’s long overdue.”

Just before leaving for the third round of nuclear negotiations with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told India Today on Wednesday that he believes a “fair, balanced, and equitable deal” is possible based on foundations built during the previous talks. But he added that Iranians are approaching these talks with more caution, after Israel launched an attack during U.S.-Iranian nuclear negotiations last June, and the U.S. also attacked multiple Iranian nuclear sites.

“The wounds of that aggression is still alive in our minds,” he said. “This time, we are obviously more careful.”

Araghchi added that rumors Iran was developing a missile capable of reaching the U.S. are “fake news” and that the country had capped its missile capabilities at a distance of 2,000 kilometers (1250 miles) for defensive purposes only.

He also stressed that Iran’s red line is that it will not give up its ability to enrich uranium, which he said the country does for peaceful purposes. Iran can offer permanent “confidence” that its program is peaceful in exchange for the total termination of sanctions, he said.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, left an American naval base in southern Greece Thursday after a brief stopover of a few days while on its way to the Middle East, where the U.S. has amassed a large number of warships and aircraft as tension with Iran spikes.

Tugboats towed the aircraft carrier away from the Souda Bay naval base on the island of Crete as talks between Iran and the United States were due to begin in Geneva.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Iran will not have nuclear weapons because the country’s religious leader has said the country does not plan to pursue nuclear weapons. ““The religious leader of a society can’t lie,” Pezeshkian said on state television on Thursday in Sari, northern Iran, as the third round of nuclear negotiations with the U.S. are about to take place in Geneva. “When he announces that we won’t have nuclear weapons, it means we won’t. Even if I want to do that, I can’t, because of my beliefs."

Oman’s foreign minister flashed a thumbs up to an Associated Press journalist on Thursday who shouted a question about whether he was hopeful about the talks.

Badr al-Busaidi was leaving a hotel in Geneva on Thursday morning. He sped away in a sedan guided by a police escort.

Oman said Thursday it had received “views and proposals” from Iran on the ongoing nuclear talks.

In a statement on the state-run Oman News Agency, it said Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi received the information in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Al-Busaidi “is expected to meet with the American negotiating team this morning to convey the Iranian perspective and, in turn, listen to the ideas and proposals put forward by the American side,” the agency said.

From there, further indirect talks will take place.

A new AP-NORC poll found that many U.S. adults continue to view Iran’s nuclear program as a threat, but few Americans have high trust in President Donald Trump’s judgment on the use of military force abroad.

The survey was conducted Feb. 19-23, as military tensions built in the Middle East between the United States and Iran.

It found that about half of U.S. adults are “extremely” or “very” concerned that Iran’s nuclear program poses a direct threat to the United States, but only about one-quarter of Americans say they have high trust in Trump on relationships with adversaries or the use of military force abroad.

Read more here.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi after arriving in Geneva on Wednesday night. The men “reviewed the views and proposals that the Iranian side will present to reach an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, based on the guiding principles agreed upon in the previous round of negotiations,” a report from the state-run Oman News Agency said.

These latest talks in Geneva are again being mediated by Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula that’s long served as an intermediary between Iran and the West.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said just ahead of the talks that Iran is “always trying to rebuild elements” of its nuclear program. He said that Tehran is not enriching uranium right now, “but they’re trying to get to the point where they ultimately can.”

Rubio also told reporters late Wednesday in St. Kitts, where he was attending a regional summit with Caribbean leaders that Iran is “trying to achieve intercontinental ballistic missiles.”

Oman's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, right, holds a meeting with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, centre, and Jared Kushner, as part of the ongoing Iranian-American negotiations, in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday Feb. 26, 2026. (Foreign Ministry of Oman via AP)