McLaughlin second to start Indycar season
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
New Zealand driver Scott McLaughlin has opened his Indycar season with a podium finish behind Spain's Alex Palou.
Four-time defending champion Palou took the victory by 12.49 seconds on the St Petersburg street circuit. Christian Lundgaard finished third.
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Palou was leading on 59 of 100 laps. With six laps to go McLaughlin was involved in a battle for second with Lundgaard.
McLaughlin started the race on pole was more than pleased with the "good start" for the season, but conceded he'd hoped for more after qualifying at the front of the grid.
“I think we've had a really good run (going) back to the end of last season,” said McLaughlin “I thought we found our mojo a little bit and then this weekend, as well.
“I knew this was going to be a strong track (for us), so I had to make the most of it.
The podium finish was McLaughlin’s first on a street circuit since the 2023 race in Nashville. He finished second that day after starting on the pole. This weekend’s pole gave him 12 as he begins his sixth season as a series full-time driver.
Sir Scott Dixon had a weekend to forget, crashing out in the opening practice when he hit the wall. In the main race he lost a tyre on lap 40 and took no further part in the race.
The third New Zealander in the rac, Marcus Armstrong was 11th after starting seventh on the grid.
