Will Power got himself involved in a few more tangles than a championship contender would be hoping for at the sharp end of the season during the Grand Prix of Madison.
In fact, he sent David Malukas spearing into the turn one wall at high-speed, before seeing Alexander Rossi climb over the back of him and take them both out of the race from the subsequent restart just laps from the end of the race.
He now sits fourth in the IndyCar standings with four races to go, but would undoubtedly be in second if it wasn’t for his late mishap.
In fact, he’s dropped a lot of points over the last two races with a 12th at Toronto and an 18th at Gateway, and will be hoping that he has already passed through the worst of his luck.
Why Will Power was ‘way over the top’ in his reaction to David Malukas crash
It was his reaction to the scuffle with Malukas that sparked controversy however, shouting at the young driver after the race.
JR Hildebrand disagreed with his animated approach on The Race’s IndyCar podcast, when he said: “I do think it’s kind of hilarious when he [Power] just goes into full rage mode. But also it was like borderline unprofessional I thought in this particular situation.
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“I thought the same thing when he crashed into Dixon, or when Dixon crashed into him or whatever in practice at Road America last year.
“It was kind of like, this is the sort of heightened level of his response seems just way over the top to me.
“Same thing there [with Malukas]. Just a completely undeserved reaction to have. Unfortunately, guys don’t forget. Malukas won’t forget that. Not that Malukas is the type of guy that will hold that against Will, but it’s the type of thing that will just rub you the wrong way.”
Power’s focus turns to championship chase
Power has since apologised and admitted that he caused the yellow on Saturday, and Malukas has offered to take a picture together to show fans that they are still on good terms.
But now it has been resolved, attention should be turning straight back to the championship, where the Aussie has to turn around a 66-point deficit to Alex Palou at the top.
READ MORE: Scott McLaughlin shares where he must now ‘perform well’ to catch Alex Palou in IndyCar title race
The upcoming Grand Prix of Portland is the last road course of the year, before the season is rounded out by three oval events at Milwaukee (two) and Nashville.
Power has won at Portland before back in 2019 and will be hoping to rediscover that type of form this weekend, or see his title aspirations turn into dust.