The NTT IndyCar Series took to the streets of St. Petersburg late Saturday afternoon, battling for the top time as the sun slid behind the numerous tall hotels that line the skyline.
There were a couple surprises among the six drivers that advanced to the final round, but there were no surprises for pole.
Scott McLaughlin rocketed past the rest of the field to take the top spot, completing his lap in 60.5436 seconds at an average speed of 107.032 MPH on the city streets.
READ MORE: IndyCar St. Petersburg – Full Qualifying Results
This is McLaughlin’s second consecutive pole at St. Pete, and sets him up nicely for a repeat of his first ever IndyCar victory four years ago.
Marcus Ericsson was second quick, just 0.0195 seconds slower in his Andretti Global Honda.
The third quickest time of the afternoon was set during an outstanding performance from rookie Dennis Hauger.
A champion in the IndyNXT feeder series last year, the 22-year-old showed his skills by putting his Dale Coyne Racing Honda high up the order.
The other DCR driver Romain Grosjean had a standout day as well, qualifying sixth in his return to IndyCar following a one-year stint in a reserve role.
Two incredibly skilled drivers split the two team-mates with Alex Palou and David Malukas qualifying fourth and fifth respectively.
Palou is looking to repeat his victory here from one year ago, and of course is looking to start his quest for a fifth championship off on the right foot this weekend.
Filling out the field
Marcus Armstrong narrowly missed out on advancing to the final round, missing the cut line by 0.0368 seconds.
The 25-year old will start two rows ahead of his Meyer Shank Racing team-mate Felix Rosenqvist, however, which will give him some consolation.
Pato O’Ward will line up in eighth with his lack of understanding on the softer alternate tires contributing to his early exit from qualifying.
Mick Schumacher, in his IndyCar debut, qualified 21st in his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda.
With many eyes watching his new stateside challenge, Schumacher showed that he can get up to speed quickly.
Josef Newgarden had a disappointing run and was knocked out in the first round. The two-time St. Pete winner will start from 23rd on Sunday.
Scott Dixon also had trouble getting the power down in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, and he will start well behind his team-mates in the eighth row.
Although there were a few disappointed drivers, all will have to be glad to not have hit the wall on the tricky street course.
Sunday’s race gets underway at Noon eastern time.
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