After a particularly difficult 2025 season for the “Thirsty 3s” (McLaughlin’s nickname for his team), the New Zealander’s third pole position in the last five years at St. Petersburg is a welcome boost. Joining Scott McLaughlin on the front row will be another driver looking to bounce back after a nightmare year: Marcus Ericsson (Andretti). Usually strong on street circuits, the Andretti team struggled more, with the exception of Ericsson’s performance, as neither Will Power (13th) nor Kyle Kirkwood (15th) made it into Q2.
The stars of qualifying were clearly the Dale Coyne Racing drivers, starting with Norwegian rookie Dennis Hauger. Third on the starting grid, the reigning Indy NXT champion finished just three hundredths of a second away from pole position on his very first attempt. Confirmed ten days before the start of the season as his teammate, Romain Grosjean qualified in a very convincing sixth position, behind Team Penske newcomer David Malukas.
The reigning champion, Álex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing), will start from fourth position. For his first qualifying session in IndyCar, Mick Schumacher (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) had to settle for twenty-first place on the starting grid, after being eliminated in Q1.
The first race of the 2026 IndyCar season will take place at 18:25 pm French time, and it will kick off a particularly busy start to the season, with four races in March.
IndyCar – St. Petersburg
The starting grid
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