{"id":1745,"date":"2026-09-05T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=1745"},"modified":"2026-09-05T22:12:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T01:12:18","slug":"mclaughlin-leads-indycar-drivers-with-unfinished-business-at-laguna-seca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/indy\/mclaughlin-leads-indycar-drivers-with-unfinished-business-at-laguna-seca\/","title":{"rendered":"McLaughlin leads IndyCar drivers with unfinished business at Laguna Seca"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Scott McLaughlin snatched pole position from \u00c1lex Palou in the closing moments of qualifying for the Grand Prix of Monterey<\/strong>, the final round of the 2026 IndyCar season. It was something of a surprise given the Spaniard’s recent record, both overall and specifically at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, but it was also a sign that Sunday’s finale could deliver plenty of twists among drivers with something to prove \u2014 and others looking to leave their current situations on a high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McLaughlin himself is one of those drivers who needs to respond to the growing suggestions that the New Zealander may no longer have much left to offer in IndyCar. Despite taking three pole positions in 2026 \u2014 including Milwaukee, where he lost pole after a grid penalty \u2014 he has not won since Portland in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a contract through the end of 2027, McLaughlin is increasingly living under the shadow of Felipe Nasr. The Penske driver will start the season finale from pole after setting a 1:09.1363<\/strong>, beating Palou by just 0.0177s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same team, David Malukas will start fifth after the grid penalties are applied to Lundgaard. He is also chasing the first win of his career, hoping to finally leave behind the “almost” label that has followed him throughout 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alexander Rossi is another driver with plenty to prove. The ECR driver has endured a quiet campaign and sits only 16th in the standings with 271 points. Even allowing for the team’s struggles, the results have been disappointing for an Indianapolis 500 winner: Rossi has failed to score a single top-five finish this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He will start fourth in his home-state race, however, giving him an opportunity to end the year on a much more positive note. Rossi has said the team identified the reasons behind the difficulties it experienced throughout the season, making Laguna Seca an important test of whether that diagnosis can translate into results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christian Lundgaard also has a major statement to make. He qualified fifth, but will start 11th after receiving a six-place grid penalty for an engine change<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even with the setback, Lundgaard remains the highest-placed McLaren driver in the championship and enters the finale fighting for second place. A runner-up finish would represent a strong response to the team’s decision to move on from him \u2014 and to Pato O’Ward, his teammate with whom tensions have occasionally spilled into public view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyle Kirkwood, meanwhile, will look to take advantage of the situation. He qualified seventh and will start sixth, putting the Andretti driver in position to capitalize on any trouble involving the championship contenders. The fight for second remains extremely close, with Lundgaard, Kirkwood and O’Ward separated by only three points heading into the finale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the rookies, Caio Collet needs something close to a miracle to change the picture around his 2026 campaign. More importantly, the Brazilian also needs to demonstrate that he deserves to remain on the IndyCar grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collet showed strong pace on Saturday with the struggling A.J. Foyt Racing operation, qualifying 12th. However, an engine-change penalty drops him six places to 18th on the starting grid<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dennis Hauger, meanwhile, remains the favorite for Rookie of the Year but does not yet have a confirmed seat for 2027. Laguna Seca therefore represents one final opportunity for the Norwegian to strengthen his case for a new contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mick Schumacher is in a different position. The German already has an agreement to join Meyer Shank Racing for 2027, but he will want to leave Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing on a high and avoid the impression that the move was motivated solely by financial considerations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Caio Collet (Photo: IndyCar)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There is plenty at stake and, at the same time, relatively little left to lose for many of these drivers. The season ends on Sunday, meaning Laguna Seca is the final opportunity to change the narrative before the long offseason begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That could even produce a repeat of the madness that defined the 2023 IndyCar finale<\/strong>, also at Laguna Seca, when the safety car itself had to be refueled. Scott Dixon took advantage of the chaos to win that race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A repeat of that result would make for quite a farewell for Dixon at Chip Ganassi Racing. After 25 seasons with the team, six championships and his upcoming move to McLaren, another Laguna Seca victory would also allow the New Zealander to maintain his remarkable record of winning at least once in every season of his IndyCar career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2026 IndyCar season concludes on Sunday, September 6, with the Grand Prix of Monterey<\/strong> at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> follows all the action from the season finale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Who starts from pole at the 2026 Grand Prix of Monterey?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Scott McLaughlin starts from pole for Team Penske after setting a 1:09.1363 in qualifying, beating \u00c1lex Palou by 0.0177s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Where will Christian Lundgaard and Caio Collet start?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Christian Lundgaard qualified fifth but drops to 11th<\/strong> after a six-place grid penalty. Caio Collet qualified 12th and drops to 18th<\/strong> after receiving the same penalty for an engine change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. What is at stake in the IndyCar finale?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u00c1lex Palou has already secured his fifth IndyCar championship, but the fight for second remains open between Christian Lundgaard, Kyle Kirkwood and Pato O’Ward. The Laguna Seca finale also represents an important opportunity for drivers fighting for contracts, team changes and their place on the 2027 grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Contracts, farewells and pressure are all on the line at Laguna Seca, with Scott McLaughlin, Caio Collet and others looking to make a final statement before IndyCar’s long offseason<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020313988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Contracts, farewells and pressure: Who has the most to prove at the IndyCar finale?","42wp_featured_image_credits":"IndyCar","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_ai_content_disclaimer":"","42wp_is_ai_content":false,"42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[],"footnotes":"","42wp_hide_from_automatic":false,"42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[43,401,9,399,214],"42wp_author":[14],"class_list":["post-1745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indy","tag-caio-collet","tag-grand-prix-of-monterey","tag-indycar","tag-laguna-seca","tag-scott-mclaughlin","42wp_author-daniel-balsa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1745"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1746,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1745\/revisions\/1746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020313988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1745"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=1745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}