Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson have departed the Arrow McLaren team after McLaren Racing completed its buyout of the NTT IndyCar Series outfit.
The completion of the purchase follows McLaren’s 75-percent acquisition of the team in 2021. The organization was founded by Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports and added Peterson as co-owner in 2013 under the Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports banner, which included former Schmidt driver Davey Hamilton who brought sponsorship from Hewlett-Packard.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1408]
Rebranded as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2014 with Schmidt, the former Indy Racing League driver and Peterson, the Canadian transportation magnate, in charge of the business, the duo progressively ceded their daily oversight of the team after McLaren entered the picture and shifted the name from Arrow McLaren SP to Arrow McLaren in 2023.
With the team he built as the first major endeavor after suffering a life-altering crash in IndyCar testing now wholly owned by McLaren, Schmidt exits with mixed feelings.
“Stepping away from my ownership role with Arrow McLaren is bittersweet,” he said. “This team has been my life’s work, growing from a dream into a competitor at the highest level. I’m endlessly grateful to the drivers, team members, partners and fans who made it all possible, and to McLaren for elevating the team’s potential. While I’m stepping back from ownership, my heart will always be with this team, and I’ll be cheering for its continued success every step of the way.”
Peterson added, “Since I joined Sam as co-owner in 2013, it’s been rewarding to see this team evolve. We welcomed Arrow as title partner in 2019, we joined forces with McLaren in 2021, we became a three-car NTT IndyCar Series team in 2023, and we celebrated many poles, podiums and wins in Indy Lights and IndyCar throughout those years. This team has a strong foundation for success, and Sam and I are proud of where we leave it.”
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown recently appointed IndyCar champion and Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan as team principal to lead Arrow McLaren into the future.
“This is an exciting step for McLaren Racing as we grow and strengthen our presence in North America, which is a very important market for our team and our fans,” Brown said. “Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson have been great partners and co-owners, and I want to thank them as we continue to build what they started many years ago, and that is a championship caliber NTT IndyCar Series team.”