McLaughlin on pole in St. Petersberg while IndyCar…

Defending race winner Pato O'Ward will have a steep hill to climb if he hopes to repeat in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

The Mexican star put forward a shockingly slow qualifying effort in the opening round of qualifying in St. Pete. His best lap came in at 1:00.367s, a full half-second below the cutoff for the Fast 12 and nearly seven tenths slower than top teammate Nolan Siegel’s best lap in the same session.

“I just couldn’t get the green tires switched on,” O’Ward said of the run. “We had two opportunities. I don’t have an explanation for you, really. It was just a really tough lap to get together.”

O’Ward had entered the session favored to take a season-opening pole. Instead, he’ll roll off 23rd. “Obviously it’s not ideal for tomorrow,” he said of the result. “We’ll have our work cut out for us. We’ll see if we can make our way and get some solid points tomorrow.”

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske (Photo by: Penske Entertainment)

Qualifying rundown

Scott McLaughlin kicked off what he hopes will be a title-winning 2025 campaign in style, securing his 10th-career IndyCar pole for the St. Pete opener.

McLaughlin delivered a 59.4624s flyer in the waning seconds of the Firestone Fast Six to lead the field in qualifying. It was a big comeback for the Kiwi, whose car required repairs after a crash in Friday’s lone practice session.

“We have so much trust in each other,” McLaughlin said of his team. “They trusted that I could do the job today in the Dex Imaging Chevy.[…] The guys and girls on this team, they’re stars. I had to repay them. I made a little silly mistake there. I was glad to come back with them.”

In typical IndyCar fashion, the closely matched field saw five different teams represented in the Firestone Fast 6. Multiple drivers swapped the fastest lap in the closing seconds of the session before McLaughlin ultimately prevailed.

Last year’s finale winner, Colton Herta, ended up settling for second, .1769s short of McLaughlin’s top time. Felix Rosenqvist, Marcus Armstrong, Christian Lundgaard and Scott Dixon wrapped up the Fast 6.

Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global (Photo by: Penske Entertainment)

Knocked out in the Fast 12 were Marcus Ericsson, Alex Palou, Kyle Kirkwood, Josef Newgarden, Nolan Siegel and Rinus Veekay. Newgarden’s premature exit was a surprise, given the pole run and dominant race he managed before losing the 2024 race win to a post-race disqualification. “I’m bummed,” Newgarden admitted, later adding that “we’ve gotta focus on tomorrow now. Tenth’s not great, but it’s not terrible.”

With O’Ward out early and both Palou and Newgarden denied in the Firestone Fast 12, none of the three main drivers advertised by IndyCar and FOX leading up to St. Pete challenged for the pole in the final round of qualifying.

Will Power, Team Penske (Photo by: Penske Entertainment)

Series favorites struggled to find a quick lap

Will Power is accustomed to strong Saturdays in St. Pete, having claimed a series-best nine poles at the facility. But the two-time champion endured a difficult trip to the track on his 44th birthday. Power’s No. 12 Chevrolet required a hybrid unit swap after morning practice. The Australian didn’t face any mechanical issues in qualifying, but made a small mistake in Group 1 that narrowly kept him out of the Fast 12.

“The beginning of the lap, you don’t quite have enough temp in the front tire,” he said. “I should have slowed the middle a bit more. Just carried a bit too much in the middle and (the car) just pushed out into the wall. I had to lift.”

The end result was a fast lap just .0178s short of advancing, leaving Power seventh in his group. He’ll start outside of the top-10 for just the third time in 17 St. Pete appearances. “Oof,” Power said. “Man, you can’t leave anything on the table in this series.”

McLaughlin (59.4678s) was quickest in a stacked opening group that featured all six cars from Team Penske and Arrow McLaren. He was followed into the Fast 12 by Herta, Siegel, Newgarden, Lundgaard and Veekay. Palou led the way in Group 2, advancing alongside Dixon, Rosenqvist, Ericsson, Armstrong and Kirkwood.

Sunday’s race will go live on FOX at 12:00 p.m. ET.