“Ultimately, it was the other way around”: Scott McLaughlin's strategy following P4 finish at St. Petersburg

The 2025 season-opener Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was a chaotic affair. Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin started the 100-lap event from pole but only finished fourth.

Following his outing, Scott McLaughlin emphasized his team's race strategy and how it could have worked in his favor rather than working the other way around. He said in a post-race interview, as reported by Bob Pocrass:

"Ah, I think if the caution is in a different spot for sure, the yellow in the first half really hurt us, but we knew we got that going in the risk of running the black tire, but we wanted a solid race, and I thought that actually the riskiest strategy was starting on the green, but, ultimately, it was the other way around."

Scott McLaughlin was in sublime form, especially during Saturday's intensely fought qualifying session. He put his No. 3 Penske through the absolute wringer around the St. Petersburg track to secure pole.

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Scott McLaughlin showed great pace around the 100-lap St. Petersburg race

While Scott McLaughlin dwelled upon how his race strategy could have worked in his favor, he also admitted that his No.3 challenger had a decent pace in the 100-lap event. The 31-year-old said:

"You know, we had great pace today and really proud of everyone.

"Just conservative I guess, we didn't really now what was going to happen and ultimately, at the end of the day, it was okay." McLaughlin said via the aforementioned source.

McLaughlin, despite his struggles in the 100-lap Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, was one of the standout performers in the race. He finished behind 2024 world champion Alex Palou, who triumphed, followed by Scott Dixon (six-time world champion) and Josef Newgarden.

Andretti driver Kyle Kirwood ended his outing in fifth place, followed by his teammate Marcus Ericsson in sixth. The rest of the top-10 places were secured by Felix Rosenqvist, Christian Lundgaard, Rinus Veeay and Alexander Rossi.

McLaughlin earned 36 points at the end of the first round of the 2025 season of the 'fastest racing on earth.' Next up on the 17-race calendar is the Thermal Club Grand Prix on March 23.