Roger Penske's IndyCar marvel Scott McLaughlin makes "sad" claim about the world of racing

IndyCar star Scott McLaughlin has brought attention to what he believes to be the 'sad' part of a racing driver's life. The New Zealand driver has been driving for Roger Penske's IndyCar team, Team Penske, since 2021. However, his ties with the American automotive giant go back to his time in the SuperCars championship, where he won three consecutive championships from 2018 to 2020.

In a recent interview with Temple of Vroom on YouTube, McLaughlin spoke about the mentality of racing drivers. When asked if he agreed with a quote by Penske's Formula E driver, Andre Lotterer, about how racers live the "dream", but are often "unhappy" and "unsatisfied", the IndyCar star replied [5:06 onwards]:

"There's no finish line to perfection in our world, literally. You could get pole by four to five-tenths... (still) wasn't the perfect lap. There's definitely something in there, and you're always thinking about that too. I think the minute you lose that, the minute the chase goes from what you want out of motorsport.

He explained that drivers should retire when they lose that incessant drive to constantly improve.

"(If) you don't feel the want to do the perfect lap or be better, if you're happy and satisfied with what it is, I think you're pretty much done. Then that's probably when you should retire. It's kind of crazy, though. It's quite sad, really."

Scott McLaughlin is having a rough 2025 season so far. He was a preseason favorite to contend for the championship, but he finds himself in a rut, with barely anything going Team Penske's way.

Scott McLaughlin takes "character-building" IndyCar challenges in his stride

Scott McLaughlin at the IndyCar XPEL Grand Prix at Road America - Source: Getty

Scott McLaughlin recently spoke about the slump that he and Team Penske find themselves in. The No. 3 Chevy driver started the season by taking pole position at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, but his results have since nosedived.

McLaughlin recently spoke about his weary run. He explained how Penske still has fast cars, but the streak of bad luck is hampering the team. The 32-year-old said on the Pit Pass Indy podcast [30:40 onwards]:

"You know, unfortunately, we're just... but we're fast and that's better than being slow and having bad luck as well. So I think, yeah, it's got to turn at some point. I'm a big believer in that."

Scott McLaughlin looked back on his Supercars career and how he had a similar slump there before he won his three championships.

"I feel like 10 years ago, I had a very similar season in V8 Supercars, and I came back and won nearly four championships in a row. So, you know, I feel like this is all character-building and I'm around here for a long time. We're not going anywhere," he added.

IndyCar's next race weekend is the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio from July 4 to 6. McLaughlin has finished on the podium twice in four appearances, including a victory in 2022.