McLaughlin secures St. Pete pole as Hauger stars in third

Written by Natasha Pinto, Edited by Dan Jones

Credit: Joe Skibinski

Scott McLaughlin and Penske secured the first pole of the IndyCar season at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, as the New Zealander successfully defended his pole position of a year ago. Andretti Global's Marcus Ericsson claimed second to equal his best ever career start, with series rookie Dennis Hauger impressing with third on debut.

Group 1 saw Mick Schumacher set the early pace as the German drivertook part in his first qualifying session in the series, however falling out of the top six transfer spots and will line-up 21st for Sunday's race. Romain Grosjean's first qualifying session at Dale Coyne Racing got off to a good start, with Grosjean able to stay in the top six, advancing to Round 2.

With a minute to go, Ericsson put in a 1:00:825 lap, with McLaughlin, Pato O'Ward and Louis Foster also sitting comfortably above the cut line.. The day ended early for Will Power, in his first qualifying session with Andretti, as he was bumped out by Felix Rosenqvist at the chequered flag.

Kyle Kirkwood, Santino Ferruci, Rinus Veekay, and Josef Newgarden also failed to advance and will be starting 15th, 17th, 19th, 23rd, respectively. 

David Malukas set the early pace in Group 2, which was seen as the weaker of the two qualifying groups. After a crash in practice yesterday, Scott Dixon almost spun on the airstrip, keeping the car on track, however losing momentum to keep himself in the top six. Reigning champion, Álex Palou, continued to show his speed with a 1:00.614 lap, coming in just behind Malukas with a 1:00.579. 

A difficult session for Nolan Siegel, Caio Collet and Alexander Rossi saw the three qualify towards the back of the grid in 22nd, 24th, and 25th positions. Marcus Armstrong, Dennis Hauger, Christian Lundgaard and Kyffin Simpson completed the rest of the drivers to advance to the Fast 12. 

Credit: Chris Owens

A standout performance by both Dale Coyne drivers put both Grosjean and Hauger in the Fast 12 secured both of their spots int he Fast Six, while Malukas and McLaughlin battled their way to advance. A 1:00:5743 lap from Hauger put him in third place, .1099 of a second quicker than Palou.

Turns 13 and 14 proved challenging for Rosenqvist as his lap was only good enough for 11th on the grid, just ahead of Lundgaard. O’Ward additionally was not able to stay in the top six as he will start eighth for the race.

The session ended with McLaughlin on top, followed by Palou and Ericsson, while Hauger, Malukas and Grosjean advanced as Armstrong missed out at the FLAG.

A quick reset and eyes were on the first Fast Six of the season. Palou set the initial pace, but was quickly overtaken by Malukas with a 1:00.763. McLaughlin put his lap on the top with 1:00.542, the fastest time set and the official target time for the rest of the field. 

Hauger found pace on his final lap of the session with a lap time of 1:00.574, jumping himself into third whilst Ericsson missed out on pole position by two-tenths of a second, putting himself in second. 

Palou slotted himself in fourth, completing the first two rows of the grid. Malukas will start his first race with Penske from fifth, with Grosjean closing out the top six.

The 2025 St. Pete race saw Palou cross the finish line in first and eventually went on to finish the season as a champion. Yet, starting on pole for a second time will put pressure on McLaughlin to bring home the win for himself and set the pace for Penske for the rest of the season.

The green flag drops at 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT).