Scott McLaughlin

Scott Thomas McLaughlin was born on June 10, 1993 in Christchurch, New Zealand. At the age of three, his family moved to Hamilton before relocating to the Gold Coast in Australia nine years later, where McLaughlin attended Saint Stephen’s College. His motorsport career began as early as 1999 on the Kartsport Hamilton track in New Zealand; in 2002 he won his first title there. After moving to Australia in 2003, he competed in both Australian and New Zealand kart championships and represented his home country in 2008 alongside Nick Cassidy in the junior field of the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals.

McLaughlin never took the classic European path through Formula 3 and Formula 2; instead, his career led directly to Australian touring cars. In 2012, he won the Dunlop V8 Supercar Series, the feeder series for Supercars, and made his Supercars Championship debut that same year as a co-driver for Tekno Autosports. In 2013, he was signed as a full-time driver by Garry Rogers Motorsport and became the youngest race winner in series history with his first victory. After four years with GRM, he moved to DJR Team Penske in 2017, where he immediately fought for the championship. In 2020, his move to the NTT IndyCar Series was announced, and in 2021 he made his first start for Team Penske at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

McLaughlin achieved his greatest career success initially with DJR Team Penske in the Supercars: in 2018, 2019, and 2020, he won three consecutive championships, setting a record of eighteen season wins in 2019 and winning the legendary Bathurst 1000. In the IndyCar Series, he quickly confirmed his talent: in 2021 he was named Rookie of the Year as the best newcomer, before scoring his first IndyCar victory at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in 2022. In 2023 and 2024, he finished third in the overall standings both years and secured the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 in 2024.

In the 2026 season, Scott McLaughlin remains a full-time driver for Team Penske in the IndyCar Series. Following strong results in previous years, he continues to be a contender for the championship and wants to use his consistency to finally help the team win the overall title after years of fighting for it. For the New Zealander, who has long established a new sporting home in North America, the IndyCar championship remains the big goal for the coming years.