Penske IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin addressed his expectations for 2026 at the series’ content days last week to Pit Debrief and other media outlets.
The New Zealander, entering his sixth season in Indycar, endured his worst campaign since his rookie season, with no wins and finishing 10th in points, low-lighted by crashing on the pace lap at the Indianapolis 500.
“We had genuine pace, but it just wasn’t enough”
The season did start promising enough, with McLaughlin 4th in points after the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis. However, by that point Alex Palou was already running away at the front.
“I thought we had genuine pace, but it just wasn’t enough. I thought my start to the year last year was strong, but there’s one guy that won five races in a row, and we somehow needed to combat against that, and that’s ultimately up to us to just execute.”
McLaughlin with momentum heading into 2026 Indycar season
His Indy 500 misfortune kicked off a stretch where he had just one top-10 finish—4th at the first race at Iowa Speedway—against four DNFs. McLaughlin recovered to finish with four straight top-10s, closing out with back-to-back podiums by finishing 3rd at Milwaukee and Nashville.
However, a mistake when leading in the closing stages of the final round in 2025 cost him a victory.
“Obviously Indy is the first one that comes to mind, but there was a lot of things that I sort of did last year. Looking back at Nashville, dropped that race from the lead; Detroit, hit Nolan [Siegel]; we were in a good spot. There’s things I’ve got to tidy up, team has got to tidy up, but I think we’ve had a really good off-season, and honestly, the morale on the team is so high and so excited right now. There’s so much want to be back to where we want to be consistently, and I think there’s a refreshed sort of focus which has been really cool to be a part of and see.”
Adjusting to becoming a veteran
This 2026 Indycar season brings with it a rise in seniority for McLaughlin, the now-middle driver at Team Penske. With Will Power departing and being replaced by David Malukas, the team changes highlight the maturity and progress that McLaughlin has made as an Indycar driver.
“I’m so focused on what I’m doing right now and improving my craft. But I definitely feel like this is the first time — I feel like I say this every year, but I come into this now where I feel so at home. I walk around this place, I know everyone. This is my sixth INDYCAR season. I did main series Supercars in Australia for seven seasons, so I am nearly the same amount of seasons I guess at the top in motorsport in open wheel in Australia. I just feel comfortable where we’re at.”
