McLaughlin and De Francesco argue post-race in California

Scott McLaughlin and Devlin De Francesco had a heated argument following a collision during a formation lap at The Thermal Club. The incident occurred before the IndyCar race began, when De Francesco hit McLaughlin, causing the latter to face the wrong way on the track. Due to the crash, De Francesco received a drive-through penalty while McLaughlin fell far behind the pack. After the incident, McLaughlin reported, “Everything’s fine, he just drove into my door.” Unfortunately, McLaughlin later had to retire his car after experiencing issues with an overheating hybrid system, finishing six laps behind. De Francesco finished the race in 20th place, also one lap down. After the race, both drivers were seen arguing, using strong language to express their frustrations. De Francesco exclaimed, "We’re supposed to be side-by-side, you f***ing moron,” while McLaughlin retorted, “You drove into me. You got a drive-through for a reason, Dev.” The tension between them was clear as they exchanged words over the incident.