IndyCar: McLaughlin wins pole for St. Petersburg GP
Scott McLaughlin has won pole position for the Firestone GP of St. Petersburg, the opening race for the 2022 IndyCar season.
McLaughlin’s lap of 59.7579s in Round 3 (Fast-Six) beat his Penske Chevy teammate Will Power, the man who has won more poles at this track than anyone else, by 0.12s.
Colton Herta was third in the #26 Andretti Autosport Honda ahead of the #21 Ed Carpenter Chevy of Rinus Veekay, the #28 Andretti Honda of Romain Grosjean to round out the top-5.
Street courses were McLaughlin’s Achilles heel in his rookie season, but now with one year under his belt, and the Chevy engines having better driveability this year, it was enough to propel the Kiwi to the top. In morning practice he was the only driver to dip below the 1-minute mark, foretelling of things to come in qualifying.
“The DEX Imaging Chevy feels really great,” McLaughlin said. “We’ve worked really hard with my engineer, Ben Bretzman, to fine-tune what I want from this car, and I’m very proud of this team.”
The moment @smclaughlin93 won his first NTT P1 Award.#INDYCAR // #FirestoneGP pic.twitter.com/joXLZkT5zE
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) February 26, 2022
“I love qualifying. You have to put it all on the line. I’m working really well with Ben Bretzman (new race engineer). The DEX Imaging Chevy is phenomenal. Ben is a legend. We said we could do it. I’m really proud. I know Mom and Dad will be watching at home, so this is awesome. I have my in-laws here and I haven’t seen them in two years. I’m super proud for that. Chevy has done a tremendous job giving us driveability. The engine is handling so much better and I’m so confident. I’m so happy… I have a race tomorrow and can’t use too much energy!”
“I’m a competitive bloke so I hate starting at the back! At the end of the day, it’s a new thing for me. I’ll be starting from the front and leading a group to the first corner. I’m used to braking with people in front of me so I have to make sure I don’t overshoot it like an idiot! We’ll have fun. I appreciate all the fans coming out. It’s great to see so many fans and I can’t wait for tomorrow. The show is going to be big.”
Grosjean rebounded from an accident during practice Saturday morning to qualify fifth at 59.8116 in the No. 28 DHL Honda. Simon Pagenaud rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1 minute, .2041 of a second in the No. 60 AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda.
“Qualifying was okay. We still have a bit more speed we can get out of the car to get it to my liking, but the car was really good, very smooth to drive,” said Grosjean. “I know Andretti has got a brilliant car on all the street courses. With Olivier [Boisson, his engineer] last year, we had a really good car on road courses. Ovals, I know Andretti has got a good car, as well. I think with all of us working together, we can get something good. I’m happy that I’ve got really fast teammates. That’s going to push me to get better.”
In the second qualifying session, Power turned a top lap of 59.3466 to set a new track record. The previous mark was 1:00.0476 by Jordan King in 2018.
Qualification Results
Round 1 Group 1
| Pos | No | Name | Time | Diff | Gap | Speed | Engine | Team |
| 1 | 26 | Colton Herta | 59.4662 | 0.000s | 0.000s | 108.969 | Honda | Andretti Autosport |
| 2 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 59.7760 | 0.3098 | 0.3098 | 108.405 | Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 3 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | 59.8046 | 0.3384 | 0.0286 | 108.353 | Chevy | Ed Carpenter Racing |
| 4 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 59.8106 | 0.3444 | 0.0060 | 108.342 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 5 | 14 | Kyle Kirkwood | 59.8534 | 0.3872 | 0.0428 | 108.265 | Chevy | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
| 6 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | 59.9148 | 0.4486 | 0.0614 | 108.154 | Chevy | Team Penske |
| Elimination Line | ||||||||
| 7 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | 59.9931 | 0.5269 | 0.0783 | 108.012 | Honda | Andretti Autosport |
| 8 | 30 | Christian Lundgaard | 1:00.0276 | 0.5614 | 0.0345 | 107.950 | Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 9 | 06 | Helio Castroneves | 1:00.1426 | 0.6764 | 0.1150 | 107.744 | Honda | Meyer Shank Racing |
| 10 | 77 | Callum Ilott | 1:00.2121 | 0.7459 | 0.0695 | 107.620 | Chevy | Juncos Hollinger Racing |
| 11 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | 1:00.3918 | 0.9256 | 0.1797 | 107.299 | Chevy | Arrow McLaren SP |
| 12 | 45 | Jack Harvey | 1:00.5333 | 1.0671 | 0.1415 | 107.049 | Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 13 | 11 | Tatiana Calderon | 1:00.9391 | 1.4729 | 0.4058 | 106.336 | Chevy | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
Round 1 Group 2
| Pos | No | Name | Time | Diff | Gap | Speed | Engine | Team |
| 1 | 12 | Will Power | 59.3929 | 0.000s | 0.000s | 109.104 | Chevy | Team Penske |
| 2 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | 59.5846 | 0.1917 | 0.1917 | 108.753 | Chevy | Team Penske |
| 3 | 28 | Romain Grosjean | 59.6267 | 0.2338 | 0.0421 | 108.676 | Honda | Andretti Autosport |
| 4 | 60 | Simon Pagenaud | 59.7039 | 0.3110 | 0.0772 | 108.536 | Honda | Meyer Shank Racing |
| 5 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | 59.8815 | 0.4886 | 0.1776 | 108.214 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 6 | 10 | Alex Palou | 59.8956 | 0.5027 | 0.0141 | 108.188 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| Elimination Line | ||||||||
| 7 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | 59.9521 | 0.5592 | 0.0565 | 108.086 | Chevy | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
| 8 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | 1:00.0021 | 0.6092 | 0.0500 | 107.996 | Chevy | Arrow McLaren SP |
| 9 | 18 | David Malukas | 1:00.0259 | 0.6330 | 0.0238 | 107.953 | Honda | Dale Coyne Racing with HMD |
| 10 | 29 | Devlin DeFrancesco | 1:00.0850 | 0.6921 | 0.0591 | 107.847 | Honda | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport |
| 11 | 20 | Conor Daly | 1:00.1921 | 0.7992 | 0.1071 | 107.655 | Chevy | Ed Carpenter Racing |
| 12 | 51 | Takuma Sato | 1:00.2930 | 0.9001 | 0.1009 | 107.475 | Honda | Dale Coyne Racing w/RWR |
| 13 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | 1:01.0273 | 1.6344 | 0.7343 | 106.182 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
Round 2 Results
| Pos | No | Name | Time | Diff | Gap | Speed | Engine | Team |
| 1 | 12 | Will Power | 59.3466 | 0.000s | 0.000s | 109.189 | Chevy | Team Penske |
| 2 | 26 | Colton Herta | 59.4051 | 0.0585 | 0.0585 | 109.082 | Honda | Andretti Autosport |
| 3 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | 59.5157 | 0.1691 | 0.1106 | 108.879 | Chevy | Team Penske |
| 4 | 28 | Romain Grosjean | 59.5559 | 0.2093 | 0.0402 | 108.805 | Honda | Andretti Autosport |
| 5 | 60 | Simon Pagenaud | 59.5881 | 0.2415 | 0.0322 | 108.747 | Honda | Meyer Shank Racing |
| 6 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | 59.6232 | 0.2766 | 0.0351 | 108.683 | Chevy | Ed Carpenter Racing |
| Elimination Line | ||||||||
| 7 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 59.7579 | 0.4113 | 0.1347 | 108.438 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 8 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | 59.8241 | 0.4775 | 0.0662 | 108.318 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 9 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | 59.8862 | 0.5396 | 0.0621 | 108.205 | Chevy | Team Penske |
| 10 | 10 | Alex Palou | 59.9584 | 0.6118 | 0.0722 | 108.075 | Honda | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 11 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 59.9870 | 0.6404 | 0.0286 | 108.023 | Honda | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 12 | 14 | Kyle Kirkwood | 1:00.2616 | 0.9150 | 0.2746 | 107.531 | Chevy | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
Round 3 Fast Six Results
| Pos | No | Name | Time | Diff | Gap | Speed | Engine | Team |
| 1 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | 59.4821 | 0.000s | 0.000s | 108.940 | Chevy | Team Penske |
| 2 | 12 | Will Power | 59.6058 | 0.1237 | 0.1237 | 108.714 | Chevy | Team Penske |
| 3 | 26 | Colton Herta | 59.7104 | 0.2283 | 0.1046 | 108.524 | Honda | Andretti Autosport |
| 4 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | 59.8102 | 0.3281 | 0.0998 | 108.343 | Chevy | Ed Carpenter Racing |
| 5 | 28 | Romain Grosjean | 59.8116 | 0.3295 | 0.0014 | 108.340 | Honda | Andretti Autosport |
| 6 | 60 | Simon Pagenaud | 1:00.2041 | 0.7220 | 0.3925 | 107.634 | Honda | Meyer Shank Racing |
Race Lineup
| Pos | No. |
Driver |
Engine |
Time |
Speed |
Session |
|
1 |
3 |
McLaughlin, Scott |
Chevy |
59.4821s |
108.940 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
2 |
12 |
Power, Will |
Chevy |
59.6058s |
108.714 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
3 |
26 |
Herta, Colton |
Honda |
59.7104s |
108.524 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
4 |
21 |
VeeKay, Rinus |
Chevy |
59.8102s |
108.343 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
5 |
28 |
Grosjean, Romain |
Honda |
59.8116s |
108.340 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
6 |
60 |
Pagenaud, Simon |
Honda |
1m0.2041s |
107.634 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
7 |
9 |
Dixon, Scott |
Honda |
59.7579s |
108.438 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
8 |
8 |
Ericsson, Marcus |
Honda |
59.8241s |
108.318 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
9 |
2 |
Newgarden, Josef |
Chevy |
59.8862s |
108.205 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
10 |
10 |
Palou, Alex |
Honda |
59.9584s |
108.075 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
11 |
15 |
Rahal, Graham |
Honda |
59.9870s |
108.023 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
12 |
14 |
Kirkwood, Kyle (R) |
Chevy |
1m0.2616s |
107.531 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
13 |
27 |
Rossi, Alexander |
Honda |
59.9931s |
108.012 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
14 |
4 |
Kellett, Dalton |
Chevy |
59.9521s |
108.086 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
15 |
30 |
Lundgaard, Christian (R) |
Honda |
1m0.0276s |
107.950 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
16 |
5 |
O’Ward, Pato |
Chevy |
1m0.0021s |
107.996 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
17 |
06 |
Castroneves, Helio |
Honda |
1m0.1426s |
107.744 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
18 |
29 |
DeFrancesco, Devlin (R) |
Honda |
1m0.0850s |
107.847 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
19 |
77 |
Ilott, Callum (R) |
Chevy |
1m0.2121s |
107.620 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
20 |
20 |
Daly, Conor |
Chevy |
1m0.1921s |
107.655 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
21 |
7 |
Rosenqvist, Felix |
Chevy |
1m0.3918s |
107.299 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
22 |
51 |
Sato, Takuma |
Honda |
1m0.2930s |
107.475 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
23 |
45 |
Harvey, Jack |
Honda |
1m0.5333s |
107.049 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
24 |
18 |
Malukas, David (R) |
Honda |
1m0.4601s |
107.178 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
25 |
11 |
Calderon, Tatiana (R) |
Chevy |
1m0.9391s |
106.336 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
26 |
48 |
Johnson, Jimmie |
Honda |
1m1.0273s |
106.182 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
R=Rookie