McLaughlin vs Grosjean: IndyCar rivalry heating up

By Timothy Neal

Date posted: June 6, 2023

Scott McLaughlin and Romain Grosjean are developing an on track IndyCar rivalry that again came to a head at Detroit on the weekend.

The former three-time Supercars champion and the former French F1 driver have clashed three times already this season with the race results having been in the balance each time.

Although the two are friendly off the track, with McLaughlin declaring as much after their crash in St Petersburg, it hasn't stopped them from making (or almost making) a mess of each other's races in 2023.

Although Grosjean and McLaughlin are friendly off-track, the two have shared plenty of heated moments on-track in 2023

The move caused McLaughlin – who’d started in the race from P2 – to try and move past on the inside before making contact with the Frenchman.

The Penske driver was squeezed into the left side wall before slowing to a near standstill down the Rivard Street section prior to Turn 2.

"It destroyed it (the race), basically we got into Turn 1 where the pit exit is a bit awkward, but he just drove straight into me," McLaughlin explained.

"I was committed, braking as deep as I could, and he just went straight to the apex and I had nowhere to go.

"It's a duty of care from all of us to get out of there cleanly, I just don't think he really cared about where I was and just turned across my nose."

McLaughlin and Grosjean came together at St Petersburg in Florida during Round 1 of the 2023 IndyCar season

But that time it was McLaughlin who tried to defend on cold tyres coming out of the pits, with the Kiwi star owning the mistake afterward.

"First and foremost, I’m very sorry to Romain, he's a friend of mine, and I know we were both going for the win there…I just made a big mistake," McLaughlin said at the time.

"I tried to push on cold tires…unfortunately we made wheel contact this time that took us both out. Look, I don't race like that. I apologise, I feel that I’ve had many good battles with many good drivers…I just made a stuff-up."

Grosjean, who was going for his first IndyCar win since crossing from F1, replied with:

"I still admire what he's done, coming from V8 Supercars and he has done a really good job, but what we saw today on track is not racing."

Grosjean and McLaughlin also duelled it out at Barber Motorsport Park, briefly touching wheels as the Kiwi stormed to victory.

After the race, McLaughlin said that: "I knew if I hit him this time, it would be bad."

Whilst Grosjean replied: "Scott made a mistake in St. Petersburg, but I know he doesn't race that way…It (the Barber race) was all clean."

The Indycar series next heads to Road America in Wisconsin for round 8 on June 18.

If you can't get a copy locally, you can also subscribe to the print or digital edition of the magazine here.

Andrew Clarke and Auto Action's Bruce Williams and Paul Gover sat down for a candid chat on the teams, drivers and the #Supercars series championship.