Scott McLaughlin and Devlin DeFrancesco were involved in a significant incident before the race had even commenced at The Thermal Club in California. The collision occurred during the formation lap, with DeFrancesco crashing into McLaughlin’s car, leading to a drive-through penalty for the Canadian driver. This mishap left McLaughlin struggling to recover from the early setback.
On his car radio, McLaughlin commented, “Everything’s fine, he just drove into my door,” reflecting his frustration with the situation. Unfortunately for the New Zealander, matters soon worsened as his hybrid system experienced overheating issues due to a motor generator unit failure. Despite his efforts to continue racing, McLaughlin’s Dallara-Chevrolet was ultimately retired on lap 53.
After the race, which saw DeFrancesco finishing in 20th place, tensions flared further between the two drivers. A heated exchange unfolded, with DeFrancesco accusing McLaughlin of not adhering to proper racing etiquette, yelling, “We’re supposed to be side-by-side, you f—ing moron.” McLaughlin defended himself, insisting on the validity of DeFrancesco’s penalty, stating, “You drove into me. You got a drive-through for a reason, Dev.”
The race was won by reigning champion Alex Palou from Spain, marking his second victory of the season. McLaughlin currently sits 10th in the overall standings, while his Team Penske counterpart Will Power finds himself in 14th place. Reflecting on the disappointing turn of events, McLaughlin said, “Not the day we wanted. It was a tough weekend all around, really,” expressing confidence in his car’s potential to compete more effectively. He noted that while he anticipated moving up the field successfully, mechanical issues hindered his progress. “Unfortunately, the issue we had with our MGU caused it to go into critical mode,” he explained.
Despite the challenges faced, McLaughlin remains optimistic about improving his standings as the season progresses. He expressed gratitude for a solid finish earlier in the year at St. Petersburg and is focused on climbing out of the current points deficit.