“It sucks”: McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard reflects on Portland penalty that ruined his shot at victory

Arrow McLaren driver Christian Lundgaard recently took part in the BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland. He spoke about his performance and how the penalty ruined his chance at winning the race.

The 24-year-old drives the #7 Arrow McLaren car powered by Chevrolet. During the recently held Grand Prix at Portland, Lundgaard had secured pole position. However, he was given a six place grid penalty for an unapproved engine change on Friday which caused him to start the race in seventh. He managed to climb up the grid and finished the race in second place, holding off Alex Palou.

While talking to Eric Smith from IndyCar, the Danish driver spoke about how he would have challenged for the victory if he he had not been hit with a six place penalty. He said, (via IndyCar.com)

“Personally, I think everybody on the 7 car left Portland with a feeling of, ‘We won that weekend.’ We were the fastest car all weekend. We had an engine penalty, but we drove back to second. I had to hold off Alex Palou, who’s won eight races this season. We were right there with Power all weekend. Without the penalty, I have no doubt we could’ve had a better result.”

This second place finish marked Lundgaard's second consecutive second place finish and his third second place finish in the race. This also marked his fifth podium of the season.

Christian Lundgaard has had a decent 2025 season, as he qualified in second place at the Thermal Club Grand Prix held on March 23. He finished the race in third place. At the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey held on July 27 he started the race in second place and wrapped up in second.

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Christian Lundgaard talks about the delayed caution at Laguna Seca track

The Arrow McLaren driver Christian Lundgaard recently spoke about IndyCar's delay in throwing in the caution during Rinus VeeKay's incident. During the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey held at the WeatherTeach Raceway on July 27, Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood made contact with Rinus VeeKay.

The impact sent VeeKay into the runoff area at Turn 2, and he sat under the local yellow until race control threw in a caution. During the post race interview, Christian Lundgaard was questioned about his opinion on the same. He said, (via ASAP Sports)

"I think there are pros and cons to it in a sense. I mean, I was definitely driving around thinking, why is there a car sideways -- well, technically backward going into the corkscrew, and we're green for two laps? Yes, there's a local yellow, but if someone isn't really paying attention, changing a switch on the steering wheel, it can go terribly wrong."

"The one with VeeKay in turn 3, I think, was more fair in a sense because you see him parked in the gravel. You're not really going to end up there unless you really aren't paying attention. I think INDYCAR, in a sense, has been consistent with that. Not necessarily to say that I agree with it, but I do appreciate that they are consistent with it," Lundgaard added

Christian Lundgaard currently sits in fourth place in the drivers' championship with 398 points to his name.