Scott McLaughlin apologizes to Team Penske for St. Petersburg crash - "The long hours suck"

Scott McLaughlin has apologized to his No. 3 Team Penske side for making them work overtime to repair his car after he crashed it in practice session 1 of St. Petersburg GP weekend on Friday. The 'Thirsty Threes' had to put in extra hours to get his No. 3 Chevrolet ready for qualifying day on Saturday.

McLaughlin crashed his car coming out of Turn 3, with the rear left and the front left tires hitting the wall. The left front caved in under the front wing, breaking the steering arm of that side. However, it wasn't a major crash and the New Zealand driver was checked and released from the medical center in St. Petersburg.

Team Penske made sure that his car was in top shape for qualifying the next day. Scott McLaughlin, who signed a new contract extension with the Roger Penske-owned team on Friday, delivered instantly by taking pole position in the first race weekend of the year on Saturday.

During the post-qualifying interviews, he explained how he felt bad making the team work harder on car reparations.

"The hit that I had yesterday wasn’t as bad as it looked. The theatrics were pretty crazy. But ultimately, you hate giving the team extra work and go over the garage hours and whatnot," Scott McLaughlin said via Fastest Formula News. "So get anything you can do to repay them. They always say just go out and get pole or do whatever."

The 31-year-old promised to make up for it by taking his team out for a beer after the race on Sunday.

"The team, they love working on it. Yeah, the long hours suck, but it’s kind of a passion. And it’s just nice to repay them in some ways. The only way I can do it apart from maybe a Coors Light after the race or something like that," McLaughlin added.

With this pole position for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, he only strengthened his position as a potential contender for the 2025 IndyCar championship.

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Scott McLaughlin embraces St. Petersburg's "immaculate" vibes after taking pole position in qualifying

INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Day 2 - Source: Getty

Scott McLaughlin's final lap in the Firestone Fastest 6 was his best of the day and dethroned Colton Herta from the top spot. The Team Penske driver's lap time of 00:59.4624 edged his Andretti Global driver, who recorded a 00:59.6393, to P2.

In a post-qualifying interview with FOX Sports reporter Jamie Little, McLaughlin spoke about the respect he and his No. 3 Team Penske team have for each other.

"Just a huge amount of respect and we have so much trust in each other. And they trusted that I could do the job today," he said.

The 31-year-old, who was IndyCar's best qualifier in 2024, with five pole positions, embraced the high of kicking off the 2025 season on a high.

"I just wanted to get Pole first race of the year. Good vibes, you know. Just great vibes, immaculate vibes. I'm very excited. Great spot to start and we'll do what we can in the race and see how we go," he told Little.

Scott McLaughlin's Penske teammates didn't have as good a day. While birthday boy Will Power got knocked out in Round 1 of qualifying, Josef Newgarden got done before the Fast 6.