French driver Simon Pagenaud has scored his first victory for Team Penske, holding off Scott Dixon to win the IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach.

It was a controversial win, though, as Dixon and his Chip Ganassi Racing team believed Pagenaud should have been penalised for crossing a blend line as he returned to the track following a pit stop.

The Frenchman didn’t think he did anything wrong, although video did show his wheels over the yellow blend line as he came off pit road.

“There’s an inch on the race track, so I’m good,” he said.

When told IndyCar had issued him a warning, he said: “I don’t care.”

The Dixon camp interpreted the rule as a clear violation.

“They told us with the steward system this year there would be no warnings,” Ganassi team manager Mike Hull said during the race.

“What we were told in the driver meeting that if anyone did that, there would be a penalty. They didn’t tell us what the penalty was, but he shouldn’t be leading the race.”

Pagenaud’s Australian teammate Will Power finished seventh.