Scott McLaughlin says Will Power “gave me no option” after contact ends Detroit podium chances

The former IndyCar teammates were fighting for a potential podium before it came undone for both

Scott McLaughlin and Will Power didn’t give off the look of former teammates, with the two locked into a fierce battle for the podium that led to it falling apart for both in the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

The #26 Andretti Global Honda of Power shot to the inside of McLaughlin’s #3 Team Penske Chevrolet into Turn 3 in an effort to take third. Upon the exit of the corner, however, the two came together as Power was squeezed into the outside wall to the point both of his front tires were off the ground for a brief moment.

Will Power, Andretti Global and Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske (rear) - Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix - By: Joe Skibinski

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

The two made contact a second time the following lap in Turn 7, which pushed McLaughlin into the outside wall, with another clash into Turn 8.

Ultimately, Power’s damage was extensive enough that he was forced to come into the pits seconds later. He exited the car and was left enraged after the incident, even mouthing “f*** off” to the FOX Sports camera as he stood in his pit stall.

Power, who drove 17 years with Team Penske, later shared his discouragement after not converting a front row start into a strong result. He finished 22nd.

“It was a disappointing race to say the least,” Power said. “We were in a good position there near the end and had a shot at a podium. Unfortunately, the contact caused suspension damage and that was it. It’s frustrating, but I have no doubt that our time on the top step of the podium is coming soon.”

It ended up being a similar result for McLaughlin, who finished 19th and four laps off the pace after suffering an issue from the run-in with Power.

“I had a broken toe-link after the contact,” McLaughlin said. “The Clarience Technologies Chevy was super-fast. I don’t know if we had the pace to win with Alex (Palou), but we were right there. Probably good enough for third or fourth.

“We were side-by-side out of Turn 3 and I got a little sideways which made me press him to the wall a lot more aggressively than I wanted which closed the hole. I don’t know whether he’s pissed off because of that. He got me and I was pretty happy with that. It still would have been a good result right now. He’s faster than me on restarts, I’ll let him have it.

“Going into Turn 3, he locked the right front. I got up the inside of him. Honestly, I was going to go to the outside and he kept turning in and basically gave me no option. The whole way, no option. I went beside him, no option. Turned into the side of me and drove me into the right-side fence and another fence. I didn’t want to do that to him. I didn’t want to do that to my day.”

McLaughlin expects to have a conversation with Power about the incident.

“We’ll talk about it,” McLaughlin said. “I have so much respect for Will Power, he’s been my teammate for so many years, and helped me so much. I regard him as a guy with a lot of respect.

“Today, I felt like he gave me no option and I really didn’t want to see that happen with either of us. I’m super frustrated. We had a great car, and I don’t know what else I could have done.”