Sebastien Bourdais 'heartbroken' for Robert Wickens after IndyCar opener

Bourdais trailed the leading battle of Wickens and Andretti's Alexander Rossi in the final stint of the season-opener.

He then took the victory when Rossi lunged down the inside of Turn 1 on a late restart and collided with Wickens.

The collision then allowed Bourdais to take the lead and eventually the win when the eighth caution of the race handed him the victory.

Wickens led 69 of the 110 laps and was classified 18th, with Bourdais expressing sympathy to the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver.

"I couldn't be any happier for Dale Coyne Racing and everybody on board, all the boys," said Bourdais.

"They worked so hard. It's a tiny group but they work their tails off.

"We didn't have the fastest car today but we had consistency and we pulled it together.

"We were going to get a podium today, which was awesome.

"I was really happy for Robert and kind of heartbroken for him, but for us, it is just such an upset. I can't quite put it into words."

Bourdais described his win as emotional and St Petersburg was his first victory since his comeback from a serious crash in qualifying for the 2017 Indianapolis 500.

The DCR driver broke his pelvis and fractured his hip before returning to racing three weeks earlier than expected at Gateway, finishing 10th.

"This is emotional because I was able from a few broken bones to come back in this victory circle," he said.

When asked if he had considered retirement following his crash, Bourdais added: "When I got the verdict of what was broken and I was going to heal pretty well, it was never a question on whether I should continue or stop. Guess I'm glad I did continue."