McLaughlin wins the second IndyCar race in 2021

Scott McLaughlin was just outside the top ten at the Grand Prix of St Petersburg, which was won by Colton Herta of Andretti Autosport.

Herta won for the fourth time in his career, holding off a late charge from McLaughlin’s Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden.

McLaughlin, a three-time Supercars champion, ran in the top ten late in the race before finishing 11th, making him the field’s highest-placed rookie.

Romain Grosjean, a former Formula One driver, finished 13th, while Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, finished 22nd.

Daniel Ricciardo Shirt Hoodie Racing Uniform Clothes Formula One

Herta dominated the race from the start, leading 97 of the 100 laps.

Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud, Penske teammates, started third and fourth, respectively, behind Herta and Meyer Shank Racing’s Jack Harvey.

On lap 18, Johnson caused the race’s first caution when he hit the barrier at the final corner.

Takuma Sato, the 2020 Indianapolis 500 winner, collided with James Hinchcliffe of Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport, who suffered a puncture.

Newgarden, who had won the previous two editions of the St Petersburg event, passed Harvey for second place and was set to finish after Herta.

After the pit cycle, McLaughlin was in the top ten before Johnson crashed again, this time on lap 74.

McLaughlin was on his way to a first IndyCar top 10 finish but Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay and Penske teammate Will Power dropped him to 11th.

Jones (Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan) spun after contact with Hinchcliffe at Turn 4, with Barber pole sitter Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren SP) also involved.

Australian Power, the 2014 series champion and 2018 Indy 500 winner, passed VeeKay and Sebastien Bourdais to reach eighth by race’s end.

Herta won by nearly three seconds over Newgarden at the front, with 2016 champion Simon Pagenaud completing the podium ahead of Harvey and 2020 champion Scott Dixon.

McLaughlin was 1.6 seconds behind 10th-placed Bourdais and just over 17 seconds behind the lead.

“Smiling because we are improving and moving forward every lap we do,” the Kiwi posted to social media.

”P11 today. Car was very quick, teams pit stops were awesome, laps is what we need right now and we are doing plenty!”

McLaughlin is 15th in the points heading into this weekend’s Texas Motor Speedway doubleheader.

For the OTR SuperSprint on May 8-9, the Repco Supercars Championship field will return to The Bend Motorsport Park.

The event will be streamed live on Kayo and broadcast live on Foxtel, with highlights on 7 and 7 Plus.

The uniforms of Formula One racing drivers are currently available at the following websites for a reasonable price:

Sebastian Vettel Shirt Hoodie Racing Uniform Clothes Formula One

Frank Capua Shirt Hoodie Racing Uniform Clothes Formula One