The NTT IndyCar Series took to the streets of St. Petersburg on Saturday afternoon, setting the fastest laps possible in their bid to qualify at the head of the field.
When the dust settled from three rounds of action it was Scott McLaughlin that surfed his way to pole with a quick lap of 59.4624 seconds.
McLaughlin has always enjoyed the 1.8-mile street course in Florida, with the Kiwi earning his first pole and first win on the track in 2022.
He will look to repeat that success on Sunday as he leads the field to green from the point position.
Starting alongside will be Colton Herta, who has looked really fast all weekend. A relatively-large 0.177 seconds separated him from the top spot, a gap that he could not overcome.
As was the case last year, Meyer Shank Racing was particularly speedy on the bumpy street course, with both drivers advancing through to the third and final Fast Six qualifying round.
Felix Rosenqvist earned the third grid position, with his team-mate Marcus Armstrong set to start alongside on the second row.
Armstrong had a close call on his fast lap when he bounced off the wall in Turn 10, which visualized just how far all the drivers were pushing the limits.
Christian Lundgaard impressed in his Arrow McLaren debut by earning the fifth starting spot, with veteran Scott Dixon qualifying in sixth.
Expected championship contenders Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden both failed to advance to the final round, earning the eighth and 10th starting positions respectively.
The highest qualifying rookie was Louis Foster, who continued his strong weekend form to slot into the 16th starting position for his first IndyCar race.
Overall, it was the narrowest of margins that separated those at the front from those that will have to start from the rear of the field.
St. Petersburg is a technical street course at the best of times, but new tire compounds that only lasted for a single lap and the added challenge of a hybrid boost system led to small mistakes that ultimately determined the outcome.
Details lead to disappointment
Will Power was the fastest driver that failed to advance out of the first round, with his 59.8752-second lap not quite good enough to continue to the round of 12.
He related that it was a single mistake that washed him out towards the wall that ended up costing him a chance to fight in the second round.
The most shocking result of the afternoon was Pato O’Ward, who put in an abysmal qualifying effort by his standards.
The fan-favorite driver will start from 23rd position, despite setting a lap that was less than half of a second too slow to advance into the next round.
Newcomer team PREMA had a disappointing outing overall. Rookie Robert Shwartzman put his car into the 18th starting position, but the veteran Callum Ilott qualified in the 27th and final position.
Juncos Hollinger Racing was similarly mired in the rear, with Conor Daly and Sting Ray Robb earning the 22nd and 26th positions respectively.
The 100-lap Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg takes place Sunday at 12:30 PM eastern time, live on FOX for viewers in the US.
