Scott McLaughlin takes pole in St. Petersburg

The New Zealander, who had already won in the streets of St. Petersburg by starting from pole position in 2022, beat Colton Herta (Andretti). The Californian seemed well on his way to another pole, but he had to settle for second place. Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong, the Meyer Shank Racing teammates, monopolized the second row ahead of Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren) and Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing). McLaughlin and Lundgaard were the only Chevrolet representatives in Q3. The Dane confirms his very good disposition for his first race with his new team.

From the first group of Q1, surprises were in store since Pato O'Ward (Arrow McLaren) only set the twelfth fastest time! Consequently, the Mexican will start 23rd for this Sunday's event. However, given the very finicky nature of the soft tires this weekend, anything can happen over the entire event. Will Power (Team Penske), double champion IndyCar, also missed qualifying for Q2 and will start thirteenth.

The second group offered fewer surprises, with the qualification of the two Ganassi drivers, Meyer Shank and Andretti present among the 14 cars on track. The two Premas were also in this group, Robert Shwartzman will start his IndyCar career from 18th place, while Callum Ilott will start 27th and last.

Reigning IndyCar champion Álex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) finished eighth in Q2, between the Andrettis of Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood. The top 12 was completed by young Nolan Siegel (Arrow McLaren), the very surprising Rinus VeeKay, who drives for Dale Coyne Racing and who signed his contract on Thursday morning, and finally the two-time reigning Indy 500 winner, Josef Newgarden. The first round of the season starts this Sunday at 18:30 p.m.

Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Q1 – Group 1

Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Q1 – Group 2

St. Petersburg Grand Prix – Q2

St. Petersburg Grand Prix – Q3

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