Scott McLaughlin, who has won the last two races at the Barber Motorsports Park, will start second for Sunday’s Children’s Grand Prix of Alabama. He qualified 0.146 seconds behind three-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou.
Why just one run for McLaughlin in the Firestone Fast Six?
McLaughlin was the only driver in the Firestone Fast Six who did not go out for a banker lap. Speaking in the post-qualifying press conference, McLaughlin explained this decision to media, including Fastest Formula News.
“Keeping laps off our red tires. Didn’t want a false read off blacks. I said to the guys, I’d rather go out and do it one time.
“We were prepping a lap anyway. I could feel the track on that lap. Then it was just a matter of putting it down.
“First lap wasn’t great. Sounds like Alex had the same thing. Second lap was where it was.
“We definitely left a little bit up on the table. A lap around there is a lot of fun. Alex did a great job. From our team, done a really good job just coming back because I feel like we had a bad test here, we sort of went the wrong way a little bit. Fixed it yesterday, massaged it today and got it going.”
Preparing for eventualities with the weather
McLaughlin explained how the weather impacted his approach after being asked if the team was considering multiple strategies due to mixed weather conditions. While qualifying was dry, practice two was filled with rain, and the weather will be cause for concern for the IndyCar teams and drivers.
“I think you got to be prepared for anything. As a driver, if it’s going to rain or be dry, you just got to try to do the best you can in those conditions.
“I try to keep a pretty neutral thought process before an unpredictable session. Like practice two or even qualifying. Turned out qualifying was pretty dry.
“Yeah, you just got to be as prepared as you can be, but fluid at the same time.”
Another caution-free race would be similar to past races
The Kiwi driver was then questioned about how strategic the race would be if free of cautions. Of the three IndyCar races held this season, only one had a caution, which was on the opening lap at St. Petersburg.
“ I guess we’ll see. I mean, I think personally it’s going to be very similar to what we’ve seen in the past. But we’ll see how it plays tomorrow. You can never really sort of predict INDYCAR. You just got to be ready for all sorts of situations at the same time.”
Hybrid unit has been successful
The hybrid unit was introduced full-time for 2025, and this is the first race at the Barber Motorsports Park. When asked if it has been difficult, McLaughlin said:
“I think the fun thing now, we’ve been used to the last year or so, has been deploying and doing different strategies, how you use the battery, then regen that battery, how that affects your car balance, trying to figure out what works for you. Not every driver is the same. But you know there’s a quick way of doing it. I’ve really enjoyed studying that and understanding that.
Barber, yeah, it’s been technical. It’s technical already. Adding that, it’s been tough.”
Track grip can quickly evolve
The final question McLaughlin was asked centred around track grip due to the weather.
“I don’t know what Alex thinks, but I sort of thought the track got better. It’s a pretty nice surface. Once we got out there and it was fully dry, we could attack it, lay our rubber down. It didn’t take long for the track to hit its stride.
“We’ll have a lot of rain tonight. There’s a weather advisory coming. Ultimately I think tomorrow with the sun, we’ll have warm-up in the morning, then the Indy Lights race as well. There will be a lot of rubber on the track before we head out.”
