"Scott was a little bit responsible": Alexander Rossi offers unfiltered opinion on McLaughlin and DeFrancesco's IndyCar feud

Alexander Rossi explains why Scott McLaughlin was responsible for his recent incident with Devlin DeFrancesco. Source: Getty

Ed Carpenter Racing driver Alexander Rossi has shared his honest opinion on the recent incident that unfolded between Scott McLaughlin and Devlin DeFrancesco during the Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix. Despite putting most of the blame on Devlin, Rossi explained that the Penske driver was also responsible for the collision before the green flag came out.

As the field approached the green flag on the formation lap at The Thermal Club circuit in California on March 23, DeFrancesco's car made contact with the #3 car of Scott McLaughlin. The collision caused both vehicles to spin before the race had officially started. Race officials deemed DeFrancesco responsible for the collision and issued him a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact.

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However, according to Rossi, McLaughlin also played his part in the crash leading up to the green flag. In a recent conversation on the 'Off Track with Hinch and Rossi' podcast, Rossi explained that a lack of experience of starting the race from so far back caused McLaughlin's lapse in judgement in the warm-up lap. He explained:

"What Scott was doing was he was trying his best to get up to the back of the pack because you can't obviously just go full throttle into the back of them... And at the same time, you're trying to put temp in your tires, into your brakes, you're trying not to drive offline. And so I think, as much as this was Develin's fault, I do think Scott was a little bit responsible because, honestly, I don't think he's really started at the back very much," Rossi mentioned (17:38 onwards)

"And so I think he may have had just a small lapse in the fact that you're so focused on getting to the back, you're so focused on keeping your tires clean, you're so focused on getting a run into turn one that he probably forgot that like Develin should have been right there or would have been right there..." Rossi added.

Rossi eventually came up with a percentage of blame to put on both drivers and called it 80% Devlin's fault and 20% McLaughlin's.

The heated discussion between Scott McLaughlin and Devlin DeFrancesco

The incident had significant consequences for both drivers. Scott McLaughlin's car experienced issues with its hybrid system later in the race, leading to his retirement from the race on lap 53. DeFrancesco, on the other hand, only managed to finish the race in 20th place.

After the race, the two drivers were seen having a heated exchange, accusing each other of causing the collision. DeFrancesco stated that they were supposed to be side by side and accused McLaughlin of closing the door on him.

He called McLaughlin a "fuc***g moron" during their heated exachange (via IndyStar).

The Penske driver, on the other hand, remained a bit more calm and told the Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver that he "got a drive-through (penalty) for a reason."