Scott McLaughlin has moved to draw a line under the Detroit clash that wrecked his podium hopes and ended Will Power's race, insisting his respect for the man who was once his Team Penske teammate remains intact even as he stood firm on his version of events.
The incident unfolded as the pair battled for third place on the tight, unforgiving streets of Detroit. Power's Andretti Honda made contact with McLaughlin's Penske Chevrolet at Turn 3, with the squeeze sending Power briefly onto two wheels against the outside wall. The contact did not end there: a second collision at Turn 7 pushed McLaughlin into the barriers, with a further clash following at Turn 8.
The fallout was costly for both. Power retired in 22nd after the suspension damage proved terminal, while McLaughlin limped home 19th, four laps down and nursing a broken toe-link. Alex Palou, untroubled by the chaos behind, went on to win the race.
McLaughlin was adamant he had been left with nowhere to go as he committed to the move at Turn 3.
"Going into Turn 3, he locked the right front. I got up the inside of him... he kept turning in and basically gave me no option," McLaughlin said.
"I went beside him, no option. Turned into the side of me and drove me into the right-side fence and another fence," he said.
For all his frustration, McLaughlin was careful not to let the incident sour a relationship built over years of working alongside Power at Penske before the Australian's move to Andretti for 2026.
"I have so much respect for Will Power, he's been my teammate for so many years, and helped me so much," McLaughlin said, adding simply of the need to discuss the coming-together: "We'll talk about it."
Power, for his part, was left to rue an afternoon that promised much and delivered nothing.
"It was a disappointing race to say the least," Power said. "Unfortunately, the contact caused suspension damage."
In the days since, the two have reportedly cleared the air, defusing what could have become a lingering feud between two of the series' most experienced racers. For McLaughlin, the priority now is recovering ground in the championship after a result that left a sizeable dent in his points haul.
Street circuits like Detroit have a habit of producing exactly this kind of flashpoint — narrow, walled and offering little margin for two cars determined to occupy the same piece of road. That the protagonists were former teammates only sharpened the scrutiny.
With the series quickly moving on, both drivers will be eager to reset. McLaughlin remains firmly in the title conversation, and a clean run at the next round would go a long way toward putting the Detroit disappointment behind him. The mutual respect, at least, appears to have survived the contact.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/mclaughlin-power-detroit-clash-cleared-air-2026). Visit for full coverage.*