"I disappointed myself": Scott McLaughlin shares real reason for 360-degree turn of fortunes at Thermal Club qualifying

After almost three years, Team Penske's trio got knocked out in the first phase of qualifying, including last race's pole-sitter Scott McLaughlin. The New Zealander went around in his first run during Group 1 qualifications and was on the back foot for the rest of the session.

McLaughlin ventured from racing Supercars in Australia to the United States in 2020 for his first taste of premier open-wheel racing cars. Since then, he has been with Team Penske and was even in contention for the championship last year.

The 31-year-old began the 2025 campaign with a pole at St. Petersburg, but his qualifying pace seemingly plummeted at the Thermal Club. The 17 turns became too much for him when he spun his car during his banker run on the black tires and laid pressure on his alternate red tire run.

However, Scott McLaughlin's spin 360 on his first run reduced his confidence in the car, as he revealed during the post-qualifying interview and said:

"I made that mistake on the black tire and saved it, but it's hard to get a read of the track conditions after that. And the red tire, I felt that we are going to be pretty good because we are out of sync, we weren't using this No. 1 pit [box] very well and I came around the corner at turn 1, and it was just dirt everywhere from whoever was in front of me before, and I had no grip whatsoever," McLaughlin said.

"Look, payday's tomorrow. I got the best team on the pit road to get me going in this XPEL Chevy, we'll sow how we go. I'm bummed but, disappointed in myself and we will work on it and get better tomorrow."

The Kiwi has not been in his best form in the early phase of the 2025 campaign.

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Scott McLaughlin's bad luck streak continues in Thermal Club

Scott McLaughlin at the NTT IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500 Qualifying - Source: Getty

While McLaughlin's first two weekends don't seem to be his best, it has partly not been in his control. He started the St. Petersburg Grand Prix on pole and led the most lap of the 27-car field.

However, his efforts did not come to fruition as a lap 1 caution had given a hoard of drivers a strategic advantage over him. This helped catapult Alex Palou, Scott Dixon, and teammate Josef Newgarden ahead of him at the chequered flag.

McLaughlin finished fourth behind the podium trio and aimed to look to bag his redemption at Thermal Club. However, his subpar qualifying after suffering a spin has already tied his one hand behind his back for the race.

Meanwhile, Pato O'Ward qualified on pole for the Thermal Club Grand Prix. He will be partnered up with Christian Lundgaard for an all-McLaren front row.