The 2025 NTT IndyCar Series returned to the stunning hills of California’s WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca over the weekend for the Grand Prix of Monterey.
While championship leader Alex Palou once again stole the headlines with a dominant flag-to-flag victory, it was a skilful display from all three New Zealand drivers, with Scott Dixon, Marcus Armstrong, and Scott McLaughlin all finishing inside the Top 10 after a chaotic, caution-filled 95-lap race.
Despite a tough start to the weekend for two of the three, the Kiwi trio delivered when it mattered most, on race day.
Qualifying:
Heading into the weekend, Armstrong looked set for one of his strongest showings of the season.
In Saturday’s practice session, the Meyer Shank Racing rookie was flying, finishing third fastest, just 0.1098s off Pato O’Ward’s quickest lap in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Armstrong carried that momentum into qualifying, advancing through the Group 2 session by finishing second only to O’Ward. His performance earned him a spot in Round 2, where he ultimately qualified 10th, the highest of the three Kiwis.
For McLaughlin, the opening day was more of a struggle. His No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet felt out of sorts during practice, and he could only manage 16th.
The team made setup changes ahead of qualifying, but he narrowly missed the cut to progress to Round 2 and had to settle for 13th on the grid.
It was an even more frustrating Saturday for Dixon, who was mired in setup issues throughout. The six-time IndyCar champion was 24th in practice and qualified 19th, a rare misfire for the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing team.
Grand Prix:
As the green flag waved under warm California skies, pole-sitter Alex Palou launched cleanly and quickly established a lead over Colton Herta and O’Ward.
On Lap 1, Conor Daly and Robert Shwartzman made contact in Turn 3, sending both cars into the gravel. While they rejoined the race, they were forced to pit, and a few corners later, a major incident unfolded at Turn 6.
Kyffin Simpson clipped the back of Felix Rosenqvist, bounced off the outside wall, and came to a stop in the gravel. Rosenqvist also ended up in the barriers, triggering the race’s first caution.
At this point, the three Kiwis were running close together. Armstrong had lost one position to Christian Rasmussen and was down to 11th, while McLaughlin had climbed to 12th and Dixon had made up three places to run 16th.
On the Lap 6 restart, McLaughlin quickly passed Armstrong for 11th, setting up a Kiwi-on-Kiwi battle as the race settled into a rhythm.
The Penske driver now set his sights on Louis Foster ahead in 10th, while Armstrong was left to fend off Rinus VeeKay.
Further back, Dixon continued to pick up spots, passing Kyle Kirkwood and benefiting from earlier incidents to run 14th.
On Lap 11, another caution was triggered when Jacob Abel ran straight off at Turn 1 with what appeared to be a mechanical failure.
Dixon used the opportunity to pit early for a fresh set of softs, an aggressive strategy that would eventually vault him up the order.
By Lap 29, a mix of pit strategies saw Nolan Siegel, yet to stop, leading the race ahead of Palou, Dixon, Kirkwood, and Callum Ilott.
Dixon was briefly up to second place, showing how far he’d come from his 19th-place grid slot.
When Siegel finally pitted, Dixon inherited the lead behind Palou. But on older tyres, he couldn’t hold off the charge of Herta and Christian Lundgaard, both of whom passed him on Lap 39. He soon pitted, dropping him back into the midfield.
Meanwhile, McLaughlin and Armstrong were once again running close, with Armstrong passing Santino Ferrucci on Lap 33 to run 14th. After the next pit sequence, Armstrong rejoined behind McLaughlin in 12th, continuing their in-race battle.
As the laps wound down, Palou was in a league of his own, leading by as much as 31 seconds before making his final pit stop on Lap 72. He rejoined with an 8.5-second cushion and appeared untouchable.
But with 19 laps to go, Marcus Ericsson spun at the top of the Corkscrew in a dangerous position. The delayed caution, over a minute after Ericsson’s car stopped, raised safety concerns and a backlash from fans.
The field bunched up behind Palou for the restart, with Dixon running 5th, Armstrong 9th, and McLaughlin 11th.
A few laps later, another caution flew for Ferrucci, who spun at the same corner. This time, officials responded quickly.
The race resumed with eight laps to go, and the Kiwis held their ground under pressure. Palou pulled away up front, but the fight behind was fierce.
Dixon held on for 5th place, nearly catching O’Ward on the final lap. It was another signature Dixon performance, relentless, strategic, and efficient, gaining 14 positions across the race.
Armstrong delivered a composed and competitive drive to finish 8th, backing up his strong qualifying performance with consistent race pace.
It was a well-earned Top 10 that capped off one of his most complete weekends of the season so far, showing further signs of growth in his sophomore campaign with Meyer Shank Racing.
McLaughlin rounded out the Top 10 in 10th, salvaging a solid result after a compromised Friday. It was his seventh Top 10 finish of the season and a well-earned result on a tough day.
For the rest of the field, there was no catching Palou.
The Spaniard led 84 of 95 laps, won from pole for the second straight year at Laguna Seca, and extended his championship lead to a whopping 121 points over O’Ward.
With three races remaining, only O’Ward remains in mathematical contention. Everyone else, including Dixon, who is currently sitting 5th in the standings, is officially out of the title hunt.
Palou’s eighth win of the season puts him in rarefied air: only A.J. Foyt (10), Al Unser (10), and Mario Andretti (9) have won more in a single season. Palou now joins the likes of Sebastien Bourdais (2007) as one of only six drivers to score eight wins in a year.
“It’s been an awesome weekend, an awesome year,” said Palou.
“One of my favourite tracks for sure, I couldn’t be happier right now.”
IndyCar now takes a short break before heading north to Portland International Raceway on August 9–11, where Palou could clinch the title with another strong showing.
For the Kiwi trio, momentum is building. Dixon continues to prove his championship pedigree, Armstrong is hitting his stride, and McLaughlin remains firmly in the hunt for top-five status.
With all three finishing inside the Top 10 at one of IndyCar’s most technical circuits, New Zealand’s presence remains strong as the series charges toward its finale.
Header Image: Penske Entertainment – Chris Owens
