New Zealand’s Scott McLaughlin faced disqualification from the season-opening IndyCar race after initially finishing third.
McLaughlin, along with his Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden, were penalised for breaching regulations regarding the ‘push to pass’ system during the street race in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The investigation revealed that both McLaughlin and Newgarden had exceeded the permissible parameters of the ‘push to pass’ feature, which provides a temporary increase in power through turbo boost during the race. Additionally, the team’s third driver, Will Power, incurred a penalty of 10 points, although it was determined he did not directly benefit from the violation.
IndyCar officials said Team Penske had manipulated the ‘push to pass’ system, allowing multiple cars to utilise it during starts and restarts, contrary to regulations. As per the IndyCar rulebook, the use of ‘overtake’ features is restricted until the cars reach the alternate start-finish line.
As a result of the penalties Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward was awarded the race win. Team Penske was fined $42,000 per entry and will forfeit all prize money associated with the event.
The announcement of the penalties and revised race results was delayed as officials conducted a thorough review of data and examined the Team Penske cars during the subsequent Acura Grand Prix in Long Beach.
Following Newgarden’s disqualification, New Zealand driver Scott Dixon, who claimed victory in the second race of the season at Long Beach, now ascends to the top of the IndyCar standings after two rounds, while McLaughlin finds himself at the bottom due to the penalty.
