IndyCar | Qualifying | St. Pete | McLaughlin takes home first pole of the season

After an exciting Qualifying session, Scott McLaughlin took home the first pole position of the season in St. Pete.

Following a competitive FP2 session where Marcus Ericsson topped the timesheets, expectations were high heading into today’s qualifying. The Swede had led a remarkably close field, with Rinus VeeKay impressing in second for Dale Coyne Racing and reigning champion Alex Palou completing the top three.

Today’s practice sessions hinted at what was to come, with two red flag interruptions disrupting proceedings—birthday boy Will Power causing the first stoppage and receiving a penalty, while rock debris prompted a second pause. McLaren had shown promising pace with rookie Nolan Siegel leading their charge in fourth, while Juncos Racing celebrated with both drivers in the top ten. All eyes were now on whether these performances would translate into qualifying positions.

Round 1

The lights went green for Group 1 and the drivers made their way from the pits to the track and the first drivers were setting their lap times. Kyffin Simpson was the first driver to set a benchmark time of 1:04.317s, but Nolan Siegel was quick to take the top spot from him. However, most drivers were still getting their tyres up to temperature.

Graham Rahal briefly made it to the top, until Will Power set a lap time of 1:00.426s. Joseph Newgarden was pushing hard and took the top spot, with four minutes left of the session. He set a time of 58.720s. Was someone else able to take his spot?

It looked promising for Santino Ferrucci. However, he had to go through the escape route, to avoid drama. Kyffin Simpson was putting up a fight and slid up to second place, but Nolan Siegel was not giving up. Meanwhile, Colton Herta showed good form and moved up to second. Scott McLaughlin was now in first with a 59.478s, even though he had a lap one incident, kissing the wall. Rinus Veekay wanted to prove his worth and made it into the top six, beating Pato O’ward and Will Power.

It was an unhappy birthday for Power, missing out on the Fast 12, with just two one hundredths of a second. Unfortunate for the driver who qualified Pole in St. Pete, 9 times.

Group 1 results

1. McLaughlin
2. Herta
3. Siegel
4. Newgarden
5. Lundgaard
6. Veekay

Group 2

The second group went out straight away, with the drivers vying for a spot in the Fast 12. Scott Dixon was strong, moving up to first with a 1:02.737 and Kyle Kirkwood following behind. Robert Shwartzman looked to make his mark, taking the top spot from Dixon. RLL’s Louis Foster suddenly showed pace with a 1:00.456 but teammate Devlin DeFrancesco was quick to kick him out of the top spot. It was an RLL 1-2, with DeFrancesco clearly in the fight to show what he’s got.

Alexander Rossi was in third, followed by Marcus Ericsson. Current Champion Alex Palou and Kirkwood, still in the top six. On the other hand, Marcus Armstrong is yet to set a lap, that could put him into the Fast 12.

The six-time-champion, Dixon put the softs on and snagged the top spot from DeFrancesco, but the Canadian driver was not letting this get in the way of a spot in the fast 12.

Disaster struck for Alexander Rossi, who was unable to refuel, due to a strategy mishap. Armstrong was now in fourth. The RLL duo was now split up with Foster out of the top 6, but DeFrancesco remained in the fight. Unfortunately for DeFrancesco, Kirkwood swooped in to take the sixth and final spot, but he did not make it easy. The RLL driver missed out by less than a hundredth of a second.

Group 2 results

1. Palou
2. Dixon
3. Rosenqvist
4. Ericsson
5. Armstrong
6. Kirkwood

Fast 12

The 10-minute timer for the Fast 12 kicked off and Herta looked to take the top spot for this session. Herta chose a bold strategy in running an old tyre set, hoping to gain an advantage. Kirkwood was just behind, followed by Palou. McLaughlin worked his way up to second, hot on Kirkwood’s tails and Lundgaard moved up to sixth. With Siegel in the pits, Ludgaard had the chance to take his spot in the Fast 6.

It was a McLaren 1-2 with Lundgaard on top and Siegel just behind wth a 1:00.225s. Dixon sat comfortably in third. After a brilliant lap, Ericsson jumped to the top, but Herta was making his rounds. Armstrong still had something to prove and took the top spot, but Herta just kept improving. The Kiwi driver had to settle for third.

In a surprising turn of events, many of the front-runners did not make it into the Fast 6. With Powers, O’Ward, Kirkwood and Newgarden missing, only Meyer Shank had both drivers make it to the final stage of Qualifying.

Fast 12 results

1. Herta
2. Lundgaard
3. Armstrong
4. Dixon
5. Rosenqvist
6. McLaughlin

Fast 6: McLaughlin takes home Pole in St. Pete

It was time for the final round of Qualifying and the final six drivers wasted no time in setting the fastest times they can manage. Lundgaard was the first to take the top sport with a 1:00.274s, followed by McLaughlin, who already clipped the wall three times. With Herta in fourth, the Meyer Shank duo were in the final two slots.

With just a little over a minute left, Rosenqvist made it to P1, setting a new benchmark of 59.698, followed by his teammate, Armstrong. The duo’s triumph was short-lived because McLaughlin and Herta pushed to take the first two spots.

Scott McLaughlin took the first pole position of the season, followed by Colton Herta and Felix Rosenqvist.

Fast 6 results

1. McLaughlin
2. Herta
3. Rosenqvist
4. Armstrong
5. Lundgaard
6. Dixon