McLaughlin led from pole position, as teammate Power slipped back to fourth on an alternate tire strategy, and held off reigning champion Alex Palou by half a second to take his maiden IndyCar win.
Power fought back to finish third, ahead of Colton Herta and Romain Grosjean.
St Petersburg IndyCar race results
Pole-winner McLaughlin led the charge to Turn 1 and held off an attack from Colton Herta, as Will Power dropped back to fourth, behind Rinus VeeKay, after getting sideways under power at the start on primary black tires – as opposed to almost everyone else on the alternate reds.
Romain Grosjean, who dropped back to sixth behind Marcus Ericsson, complained of front wing damage after making contact with Power at Turn 1.
McLaughlin pulled out a 3s by Lap 15 which stretched out to over 5s by Lap 20. Behind him, Power passed VeeKay for third, who was the first of the leaders to hit a cliff in terms of tire grip.
Ericsson passed VeeKay at Turn 10 on Lap 18, then Grosjean,…
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