McLaughlin on pole in St. Petersberg whereas IndyCar rivals battle

Defending race winner Pato O’Ward can have a steep hill to climb if he hopes to repeat within the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

The Mexican star put ahead a surprisingly sluggish qualifying effort within the opening spherical of qualifying in St. Pete. His greatest lap got here in at 1:00.367s, a full half-second beneath the cutoff for the Quick 12 and almost seven tenths slower than high teammate Nolan Siegel’s greatest lap in the identical session.

“I simply couldn’t get the inexperienced tires switched on,” O’Ward stated of the run. “We had two alternatives. I don’t have an evidence for you, actually. It was only a actually robust lap to get collectively.”

O’Ward had entered the session favored to take a season-opening pole. As a substitute, he’ll roll off twenty third. “Clearly it’s not perfect for tomorrow,” he stated of the end result. “We’ll have our work lower out for us. We’ll see if we are able to make our means and get some stable factors tomorrow.”

Scott McLaughlin, Workforce Penske

Picture by: Penske Leisure

Qualifying rundown

Scott McLaughlin kicked off what he hopes shall be a title-winning 2025 marketing campaign in type, securing his Tenth-career IndyCar pole for the St. Pete opener.

McLaughlin delivered a 59.4624s flyer within the waning seconds of the Firestone Quick Six to steer the sphere in qualifying. It was a giant comeback for the Kiwi, whose automobile required repairs after a crash in Friday’s lone follow session.

“We have now a lot belief in one another,” McLaughlin stated of his group. “They trusted that I may do the job at this time within the Dex Imaging Chevy.[…] The fellows and women on this group, they’re stars. I needed to repay them. I made a little bit foolish mistake there. I used to be glad to return again with them.”

In typical IndyCar vogue, the intently matched area noticed 5 totally different groups represented within the Firestone Quick 6. A number of drivers swapped the quickest lap within the closing seconds of the session earlier than McLaughlin in the end prevailed.

Final yr’s finale winner, Colton Herta, ended up settling for second, .1769s in need of McLaughlin’s high time. Felix Rosenqvist, Marcus Armstrong, Christian Lundgaard and Scott Dixon wrapped up the Quick 6.

Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti World

Picture by: Penske Leisure

Knocked out within the Quick 12 have been Marcus Ericsson, Alex Palou, Kyle Kirkwood, Josef Newgarden, Nolan Siegel and Rinus Veekay. Newgarden’s untimely exit was a shock, given the pole run and dominant race he managed earlier than dropping the 2024 race win to a post-race disqualification. “I’m bummed,” Newgarden admitted, later including that “we’ve gotta concentrate on tomorrow now. Tenth’s not nice, however it’s not horrible.”

With O’Ward out early and each Palou and Newgarden denied within the Firestone Quick 12, not one of the three major drivers marketed by IndyCar and FOX main as much as St. Pete challenged for the pole within the last spherical of qualifying.

Will Energy, Workforce Penske

Picture by: Penske Leisure

Sequence favorites struggled to discover a fast lap

Will Power is accustomed to sturdy Saturdays in St. Pete, having claimed a series-best 9 poles on the facility. However the two-time champion endured a tough journey to the observe on his forty fourth birthday. Energy’s No. 12 Chevrolet required a hybrid unit swap after morning follow. The Australian didn’t face any mechanical points in qualifying, however made a small mistake in Group 1 that narrowly saved him out of the Quick 12.

“The start of the lap, you don’t fairly have sufficient temp within the entrance tire,” he stated. “I ought to have slowed the center a bit extra. Simply carried a bit an excessive amount of within the center and (the automobile) simply pushed out into the wall. I needed to raise.”

The top end result was a quick lap simply .0178s in need of advancing, leaving Energy seventh in his group. He’ll begin outdoors of the top-10 for simply the third time in 17 St. Pete appearances. “Oof,” Energy stated. “Man, you’ll be able to’t go away something on the desk on this collection.”

McLaughlin (59.4678s) was quickest in a stacked opening group that featured all six vehicles from Workforce Penske and Arrow McLaren. He was adopted into the Quick 12 by Herta, Siegel, Newgarden, Lundgaard and Veekay. Palou led the best way in Group 2, advancing alongside Dixon, Rosenqvist, Ericsson, Armstrong and Kirkwood.

Sunday’s race will go reside on FOX at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Photographs from Saturday of St. Pete