Scott McLaughlin believes he has what it takes to win an IndyCar championship in his third full season on the American grid.
The Kiwi Team Penske driver has improved steadily in his first three years in IndyCar after debuting in October 2020, going from 14th in his first full rookieseason to fourth in 2022.
It was last season that McLaughlin showed his full potential as a genuine contender on the IndyCar circuit, earning three wins, three pole positions, seven podiums, eight top fives and 12 top 10s.
The 29-year-old was one of five drivers in with a shot at the title heading into last year’s season finale at Laguna Seca, with teammate Will Power ultimately claiming his second championship.
While last year was “a massive step personally”, McLaughlin admitted there are still many things he could improve on.
“What we know of IndyCar racing, you just need to continue stepping up a little,” McLaughlin said as testing begins ahead of the new season in March.
“McLaren is going to be fast, Andretti, Ganassi as we know is unreal. We need to continue to build as a team, myself. I’ve certainly looked at negatives that I can improve on.
“I made a couple mistakes mid-season. My Indy crash, Detroit going down the escape road, a few things that just sort of put me on the back foot championship-wise.
“The way I finished the season last year, I’ve got to start and continue to do every race of the year like that. I can’t afford mistakes. You can’t afford mistakes in IndyCar and be on the back foot.”
Scott McLaughlin. Photo / Getty
After working through struggles as a rookie, McLaughlin said he finally feels confident and believes he can go all the way.
“I think right now I feel comfortable with where I’m at. I know, I believe I’m fast enough to win the championship. It also comes up to me executing and doing what I can to perform on the day.
“What I tried to do last year was sometimes when I had, like, an eighth-place car, I tried to make it a second-place car and I’d crash or go down the escape road or something like that. That’s what I changed towards the end of the season. It’s just about letting it happen, letting the pace come, hopefully it bodes us well towards the end of the season.”
This season, McLaughlin and six-time IndyCar champ Scott Dixon will be joined by another Kiwi on the grid, with former Formula 2 driver Marcus Armstrong joining Dixon’s Chip Ganassi Racing team for road and street course races.
McLaughlin said it is great to have another Kiwi onboard in an exciting time for New Zealand motor racing.
“I know plenty about Marcus. Seen him come from go-karts, racing in Europe, then racing in Europe in cars. Excited to have another Kiwi onboard. We’re a small country, five million odd people, we punch well above our weight in terms of drivers.
“You have us three, then Brendon Hartley, Mitch Evans in Formula E. Tom Blomqvist, a semi-Kiwi, when I was in go-karts back in the day.
“It’s exciting for New Zealand. It opens a lot of doors. I’m just glad America is starting to see – not that they never saw it – but we do punch above our weight. Like I said it’s exciting for everyone at home.”
The three-time Supercars champion said he was blown away by the support he received after spending some time during the off-season in Australia and New Zealand, where he did some commentating and possibly discovered a new passion for after he decides to walk away from racing.
“I had so much support, it was awesome … I spent six weeks in Australia, two weeks in New Zealand. It was awesome to see everyone.
“I spent some time commentating. That was fun. I don’t know how you ask questions when we’re angry. I absolutely shit myself when I had to ask a couple questions to a few drivers when they had a bad run. It gave me a new focus. Okay, I probably should be a little bit nicer to you all.
“Yeah, it was good.”
The 2023 IndyCar season kicks off with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 8.
