The Kostecki/Erebus situation has been the talking point of the season so far, the reigning champion walking away from the team before the opening round, before returning thanks to a peace deal ahead of the third round in New Zealand.

McLaughlin, Supercars racer turned IndyCar star, has been a staunch supporter of Kostecki since the beginning of the affair, initially slamming Supercars for its treatment of the matter.

The 2019 Bathurst 1000 winner addressed the matter again on the latest episode of The Hard Card podcast, further explaining his criticism of Supercars.

“I’m just glad to see someone like Brodie back behind the wheel,” McLaughlin said.

“I think he’s a he’s a true talent and it sucked, from the perspective I looked at it, that Supercars didn’t have their reigning champ on the grid.

“And that wasn’t because he left to go somewhere else. He clearly just didn’t see eye to eye with his team. Which is crazy and I thought that Supercars maybe should have stepped in and made sure [Brodie staying on the grid] happened.

“That’s just what I believe. And I think a lot of people agreed with me in that regard.”

McLaughlin added: “I just felt bad for him. All he wanted to do was run #1, and I knew it was pretty tough for him seeing those cars running without him.

“I’m glad they’ve somehow sorted it out. And yeah, it’s just good to see a guy like that being able to run the #1 this year, especially being being the reigning champ.”

For more with Scott McLaughlin watch the full episode of The Hard Card.

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