Australia’s Will Power began his 2013 IndyCar campaign in similarly disappointing fashion to how last year ended, crashing out of the season-opening race.

The 32-year-old, starting from pole position for the fourth-straight year at the Grand Prix of St Petersburg in Florida, had to settle for a 16th-place finish in a tough first outing.

Canadian James Hinchcliffe won the race for his maiden IndyCar victory while Power’s teammate Helio Castroneves finished second at the 2.9km (1.8 mile) street circuit.

Power led for 26 laps but his day went downhill after he lost the lead to Castroneves following a restart.

The Queenslander’s car was first clipped by JR Hildebrand, resulting in a flat tyre and bent mirror which took two pit stops to repair.

Power then clipped a tyre barrier on turn four and had to settle for his lowly finish.

“It’s too bad because the Verizon car was definitely fast,” Power said, before adding Hildebrand had apologised for their earlier collision.

“It’s just a mistake but that happens in racing. Then I made another mistake there at the end and it cost us four more places.

“Tough day but we just have to move forward and look ahead.”

Defending champion Ryan Hunter-Reay suffered a mechanical issue and finished 18th in a rough start for IndyCar’s top two drivers.

The next stop in this year’s championship is the Grand Prix of Alabama on April 7.