Arrow McLaren added another chapter to its season of misfortune as Alexander Rossi’s crash late in Friday’s practice session left the No. 7 Chevy in a state of disrepair and the Californian with an injury to his hand that will force him out of the …
Arrow McLaren added another chapter to its season of misfortune as Alexander Rossi’s crash late in Friday’s practice session left the No. 7 Chevy in a state of disrepair and the Californian with an injury to his hand that will force him out of the car for the remainder of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto event.
“Following an incident that resulted in contact with the Turn 8 wall during Practice 1 of the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Grand Prix, Alexander Rossi was seen and released by IndyCar Medical,” a statement from the team read. “The incident resulted in a broken right thumb. Alexander will be unable to compete this weekend. Arrow McLaren will announce who will pilot the No. 7 Ryde Arrow McLaren Chevrolet the remainder of this weekend once confirmed.”
Late in the session, Rossi overshot the apex at Turn 8, clipped the tire barrier, then smashed into the wall with the left-front corner of the car, which crumpled its suspension, broke the front wings, and produced a whipping motion with the steering wheel as the tire impacted the barrier.
“First of all, I’m very thankful for all the men and women on the IndyCar Medical team and for all the great work they do,” Rossi said. “I do have a broken right thumb. It’s unfortunate because the injury occurred when I almost made it around the corner and I didn’t want to give up on it, so I didn’t quite get my hands off the wheel in time. However, everyone seems optimistic about the kind of injury it is. We’re going to take the next steps here and get ready for Gateway.”
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Rossi’s former teammate David Malukas, who was unable to race for Arrow McLaren after injuring his hand and wrist in a preseason cycling crash, spent the opening four races on the sidelines before being released and replaced by a blend of Callum Ilott and Theo Pourchaire before Nolan Siegel was signed to drive the No. 6 Chevy on a multi-year deal.
The team arrived in Toronto with heavy hearts after losing Bob Jeffrey, the spotter for Pato O’Ward’s No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevy, to cancer.
The full measure of Pato O’Ward’s growth as an NTT IndyCar Series driver was on display last weekend in Mid-Ohio. As rival and polesitter Alex Palou built a formidable gap during the opening stint, O’Ward was given multiple opportunities to chase, …
The full measure of Pato O’Ward’s growth as an NTT IndyCar Series driver was on display last weekend in Mid-Ohio.
As rival and polesitter Alex Palou built a formidable gap during the opening stint, O’Ward was given multiple opportunities to chase, just as he’d done many times in the past, and use his fearsome speed to coax extra performance out of his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevy.
Palou was demonstrably faster over the first 20 laps, pushing out to a lead that reached more than six seconds at one point — an eternity in a mostly spec series like IndyCar — as the first round of pit stops loomed. But as the Chip Ganassi Racing driver motored away, O’Ward chose peace instead of violence with the treatment of his Firestone tires.
It was this mature decision in the initial phase of the 80-lap contest that made all the difference in how the rest of the race played out for O’Ward.
His inner voice, one that embraced the big picture with two more stints to complete, led the 25-year-old to apply the necessary experience and wisdom to embrace the long game. In the middle stint on the quicker Firestone alternates, the No. 5 Chevy came alive and scythed into Palou’s lead; when it was time for their final stop, a hiccup on pit lane slowed Palou, promoted O’Ward to the lead, and set the stage for an intense battle to reach the finish line.
The Ganassi driver was a rocket as the two closed the event on Firestone’s primaries, and in a rare twist, it was Palou who was sliding wide, dropping tires into the dirt, and over-driving his car to try and keep up with O’Ward. Learnings during the opening stint were applied by Arrow McLaren when they went head-to-head in the last stint. The adjustments resulted in more speed — enough to keep Palou at bay — and despite feeling strong pressure from behind, O’Ward was a vision of calm, which netted a 0.4993s win to defeat the championship leader and break into victory lane after an absence (not counting the after-the-fact St. Petersburg win) of nearly two years.
The previous knock on O’Ward was his lack of interest in the moments where tire conservation was needed to capture the win. With a fast car, the Arrow McLaren driver was prone to spend the opening half of a stint on a road, street, or oval circuit with his No. 5 Chevy generating lap times that were simply breathtaking. But that level of ferocity came at a price.
While his closest rivals held back — intentionally restraining themselves from using everything their Firestone tires could offer — in order to preserve some pace for the end of the stints, O’Ward often gave into temptation. He’d put on a big show and run away, but the inevitable cost was paid as the tires surrendered well before the next pit stop and he’d tumble backwards before fading into an unrewarding finishing position.
And to his credit, the young Mexican, now in his fifth full IndyCar season, didn’t put the puzzle together for the first time on Sunday. His 2023 season was his best yet when it comes to consistency and using his smarts as much as his raw speed, but the victory at Mid-Ohio was a breakthrough for O’Ward to package all he’s learned and send it to the top step of the podium.
“ I was thinking to myself, ‘If he pulls this off, it’s going to send a statement,’” says Arrow McLaren’s Tony Kanaan, “and I am 100-percent convinced that it did.” Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images
“I think Pato on Sunday turned the key,” Arrow McLaren sporting director Tony Kanaan told RACER. “I think this is part of his growth. There is a crucial moment when you have a choice. You go down the road, and it splits, and one way you go, you become like everyone else, or you go the other way, and you become the driver everybody’s expecting you to be. The way he drove on Sunday, I was thinking to myself, ‘If he pulls this off, it’s going to send a statement,’ and I am 100-percent convinced that it did. Things are going to change.”
And now it’s time to take what he engineered in Mid-Ohio and apply that formula — to become “Championship Pato” — in the eight races that remain. The win vaulted him from sixth in the drivers’ standings to third, 70 points behind Palou. Of the eight races left, six are on ovals, which suits O’Ward’s skills; two of his six IndyCar wins are from ovals.
If he can channel the same focus this weekend at Iowa, then at Toronto, and through the other stops on the tour, O’Ward stands a good chance of receiving a newfound level of respect from his peers. Nobody doubts his abilities to win a few races per season, but he has yet to strike fear within title contenders like Palou, or Will Power, or Scott Dixon, when it comes to settling the championship.
Using Mid-Ohio as the model, Kanaan sees a prime chance for O’Ward to reach IndyCar’s upper echelon if his form holds.
“You’ve got to take him seriously,” he said. “This win was personal, for many reasons, and I think that showed Pato and everybody else how strong he is. I am 100-percent convinced that, and it doesn’t matter who it was behind them, that when he took the lead, they would think, ‘Don’t worry about it, he’s gonna mess up, I’m gonna pass him. He’s not strong.’ And he made a statement there, because then all of a sudden you see Palou putting wheels off here and there. Like, not a normal situation.
“So maybe what Pato did surprised everyone, but it didn’t surprise me, because I have the inside information and what he did is the stuff that we’ve been working on through the offseason, back with Gil [de Ferran] with his F1 tests with Pato. I knew this guy was in there waiting to get out, which he did.”
And now the race begins to see if O’Ward and the No. 5 crew can chase down Palou and Power, two of IndyCar’s masters of controlled excellence, in the standings.
“When he got out of the car, we had the longest hug ever, but it wasn’t just because of the win,” Kanaan added. “I was holding him and helping him to sit down, because he was spent. He left it all out there. It was personal. He was in the shop today and did a speech for the mechanics. He’s confident, he’s pumped, he pumped the team, and that’s the Pato we need.
“So hopefully this will turn the key for good. I want to keep that momentum going and make this a habit. That’s why we signed him for the next five years, because that’s the kid that we believe is going to deliver for us, totally.”
“Long time coming,” was Pato O’Ward’s message to his team after producing a masterful performance to turn the tables on Alex Palou and secure his first on-track victory since Iowa in 2022. Although the Arrow McLaren driver was credited with the win …
“Long time coming,” was Pato O’Ward’s message to his team after producing a masterful performance to turn the tables on Alex Palou and secure his first on-track victory since Iowa in 2022.
Although the Arrow McLaren driver was credited with the win in St. Petersburg after Josef Newgarden was disqualified, there was no satisfaction taken from the result since it didn’t come with a trip to victory lane. On Sunday at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, the Mexican appeared to be playing for second place as Palou streaked away from pole on the first stint.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver had an advantage on Firestone’s primary tires, but when both pitted and went to the faster but less durable alternates, O’Ward’s No. 5 Chevy started cutting into Palou’s lead, and with the gap cut to almost nothing, their final stop is where their respective fortunes rose and fell.
With a 5s lead cut to 0.5s, O’Ward stopped one lap before Palou, got in and out of the pits with haste, and had hot tires to attack Palou who pitted on the next lap. But O’Ward wouldn’t need to do anything courageous to snatch the lead; Palou’s stop was clean from his No. 9 Honda pit crew, but he sat idle for an extra moment or two while trying to engage the transmission and fire back onto the circuit.
That tiny bobble was all it took for the charging O’Ward to power around Palou and hold onto a diminishing lead of his own to bring his on-track winless streak to an end after 714 days.
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“That was a hard-fought race,” O’Ward said after handing Chevy the first win of IndyCar’s hybrid era. “Great job by the team. It’s been a while. This is a proper win. We earned this one.”
Just 0.4493s separated Palou from earning his second straight win.
“Shame,” he said. “It was a good race. We couldn’t make the alternate tires last. I destroyed my front tires. We had a slow stop; [I] couldn’t engage first gear.”
Scott McLaughlin, 16.1s shy of O’Ward, salvaged the day with a third for a Team Penske squad that had its share of struggles with Will Power running out of the lead pack in 11th and Josef Newgarden who tried to make a three-stop pit strategy work before receiving three straight penalties—the only penalties in the race—for speeding on pit lane, failing to heed instructions from IndyCar, and another speeding penalty while serving a penalty. He’d end the day a distant 25th.
With O’Ward and Palou in a world of their own, McLaughlin and the Andretti Global duo of Colton Herta in fourth and Marcus Ericsson in fifth ran smart races while lacking the pace to chase the leaders. O’Ward’s teammate Alexander Rossi completed the top six.
Elsewhere, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen turned his strong qualifying performance of eighth into his best race finish of ninth, and not far behind him on the road in 13th, IndyCar rookie Toby Sowery was nothing short of impressive as he took his Dale Coyne Racing car from 25th to 13th.
IndyCar’s new energy recovery system was almost flawless in its first race.
Ganassi’s Scott Dixon was bitten by some form of hybrid-related issue before the green flag which ruined his race, but his was the only car among the 27 in attendance to encounter adversity with the system.
As it happened
The first hybrid IndyCar race got off to a disastrous start for perennial Mid-Ohio contender Scott Dixon whose No. 9 Ganassi Honda died on the final warmup lap, which forced Dixon to sit and wait for his powerless car to be pulled off the course where he climbed out and watched for 22 laps from the sidelines.
The proper race start on lap three saw polesitter Alex Palou lead into Turn 5 and build a 1.0s lead over Pato O’Ward. The jousting between Christians—Lundgaard and Rasmussen—over seventh place on lap four went to Rasmussen as Palou stretched his lead over O’Ward to 1.5s on lap five. David Malukas sat 2.2s back in third.
By lap 10, Palou was disappearing into the distance with 3.3s over O’Ward and 6.5s over Malukas.
Pit lane got busy starting on lap 11 as Kyffin Simpson dove in and committed to a three-stop strategy; Josef Newgarden and Rinus VeeKay did the same on lap 12. Marcus Armstrong, Felix Rosenqvist, and Nolan Siegel pitted on lap 13. Palou held 4.4s over O’Ward on lap 14 and Malukas was 9.9s arrears.
O’Ward was 5.7s back on lap 20—the one-quarter mark—and Malukas was a full 13.0s behind Palou, who was cruising. In fourth, Colton Herta was down 14.4s, Scott McLaughlin was fifth at 15.6s, and Marcus Ericsson was 17.4s shy of the leader.
Lap 22 saw Dixon emerge from the pits in an attempt to salvage his day in any way possible. Palou’s march continued as his gap to O’Ward grew to 6.3s on lap 25. By lap 27, O’Ward cut the lead down to 5.6s as he prepared to pit at the start of lap 28 and move from Firestone primaries to alternates—like the other leading drivers — on his two-stop strategy.
Third-place Malukas pitted as well, which forced O’Ward’s team to hold him as Malukas pulled into his pit box. The time loss for O’Ward wasn’t great, but Malukas stalled, which lost him even more time.
Issues for @malukasdavid and the No. 66 in the pits!
Palou was in at the start of lap 29 and had a slightly slow stop as a wheel gun issue added a few seconds to the stop. With the top three having pit stop issues, the damage varied as Palou returned with 5.7s over O’Ward and Malukas fell from third to 13th.
McLaughlin went for the overcut by pitting at the start of lap 31 and was rewarded by emerging in third ahead of Herta and Newgarden, who was in need of stopping soon on his three-stop plan. Fellow three-stoppers Siegel and VeeKay were in on lap 33.
Newgarden was in on lap 37 and resumed in 16th. Palou’s lead fell to 4.5s on lap 38 as he worked through traffic; McLaughlin was 11.5s back in third.
Palou focused on conserving his alternate tires in the race’s middle phase as O’Ward did the same, but on lap 42, Palou’s lead was down to 4.0s as O’Ward slowly drew the margin down. Was it a case of O’Ward catching, or Palou giving up outright speed to get more life out of his tires?
Running sixth on a three-stop strategy, Linus Lundqvist pitted—he’d need one more stop—on lap 45 and resumed in 17th. Without a caution at an opportune time, the three-stoppers were facing some rough results.
By lap 47, O’Ward had Palou’s lead down to 3.2s and McLaughlin was only 6.3s back. Second- and third-place drivers were going forward and the leader was going backward. lap 49 and it was down for Palou to 2.7s. O’Ward’s charge continued as 2.3s separated him from Palou on lap 50 as traffic was on the horizon.
Lap 52 and O’Ward was down by just 1.4s. Ericsson also took fourth from teammate Herta. The start of lap 53 had only 0.8s between Palou and O’Ward. O’Ward was in Palou’s wheel tracks on lap 54 with 0.5s between the contenders. The McLaren pitted at the end of the lap—the start of lap 55—to take primaries as Palou stayed out and lost a bit of time trying to get around Will Power.
Palou was in at the end of lap 55 and the race for the lead was on. A delay dropping the clutch gave O’Ward the lead as Palou watched O’Ward sweep by on pit exit. By lap 57, O’Ward held 1.5s over Palou. Could Palou summon his earlier pace on primaries, or would O’Ward hold firm in the lead?
Palou got the lead down to 1.1s on lap 59, but he spent the next lap stuck behind Pietro Fittipaldi and saw it swell to 1.6s. A bobble by Newgarden who hit the inside curb at Turn 11 slowed his progression as he flew across the grass but he didn’t lose an immense amount of time and resumed in fifth while preparing to make this third and final stop.
Lap 63 and Palou carved O’Ward’s down to 0.8s. McLaughlin was 12.3s behind O’Ward and Ericsson — on alternates — was 17.0s back in fourth.
Sixty six laps down and now Palou was in O’Ward’s wheel tracks, 0.3s behind. Newgarden was in for his final stop and back in on lap 67 for speeding. He returned in 25th.
O’Ward was pushing and drew the lead out to 1.0s on lap 68, and imprecise driving from Palou and a slide out of Turn 13 had his deficit grow to 1.3s on lap 69. O’Ward was back in control with greater comfort.
Catching traffic, including Palou’s teammate Simpson, the leaders had a 0.7s separation on lap 70. Herta reclaimed fourth from Ericsson and Alexander Rossi was in sixth.
Lap 74 and it was 0.5s. Palou was close, but he’d need something remarkable to happen to get by O’Ward. Lap 77 and Palou was within one car length but he slid off the course and gave away a few tenths. Lap 78 and it was 0.5s, which was close for Palou, but not close enough as Romain Grosjean spun off the course on his own.
When the white flag flew, a 0.4s lead was in store for O’Ward, and he held onto it to claim his second race of the year.
Bobby Rahal and his fellow co-owners of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have a genuine affinity for Christian Lundgaard. They didn’t want to search for a new driver to occupy their No. 45 Honda, but that’s where they find themselves after he chose to …
Bobby Rahal and his fellow co-owners of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have a genuine affinity for Christian Lundgaard. They didn’t want to search for a new driver to occupy their No. 45 Honda, but that’s where they find themselves after he chose to leave RLL for Arrow McLaren at the end of the NTT IndyCar Series season.
Rahal understands the 22-year-old has done what he considers to be the best thing at this stage of his career, but that doesn’t lessen the sting or diminish the feelings of rejection associated with Lundgaard’s impending move to partner with Pato O’Ward and Nolan Siegel in 2025.
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“I’m proud of what our team has achieved over the last several years, and certainly Christian has been a part of that,” Rahal told RACER. “But when I hear people talking about McLaren being one of the top four teams, where’s the results to show that? Yes, Pato, he’s clearly the leader of that team, and I would say he will be continuing to be the leader of the team. A lot of drivers always feel like the the grass is greener somewhere else. You look at (Andretti Global’s) Marcus Ericsson. If you ask Marcus today, I bet he’d rather be back with Ganassi, right? I think he’s a hell of a driver, but the first half of the year hasn’t been so wonderful for him there.
“So what I said to the team today was I guess Christian doesn’t think we can take him to victory lane as much as McLaren. And if you base it on past history, well, that’s not necessarily a good decision. But OK, I see it, maybe we haven’t made the gains that we would like to, but we’re busting our ass to make those gains. And a career isn’t made in one year. Careers are made over multiple years.
“We loved Christian. We still love Christian. He’s a firecracker. He’s a guy that lights things up, and I’m just sad that he’s decided to go elsewhere. But I’ve been in this sport a long time, and this is not the first time it’s happened, and it’s not the last.”
Lundgaard, who sits 11th in the driver’s championship, will replace Alexander Rossi in the No. 7 Chevy, who holds seventh in the standings right behind O’Ward in sixth. After giving the ex-Formula 2 driver his break in IndyCar in the summer of 2021, Rahal wanted Lundgaard to stay and continue to lead the RLL team to better days.
“Loyalty is a big thing for me, and I know it’s a big thing for Mike Lanigan,” he added. “I remember in ’81 when I sent letters to Roger Penske and Pat Patrick about letting me drive their Indy cars on the road circuits, and I got responses from them that basically said, ‘Don’t call us. We’ll call you.’ And in ’84, Pat Patrick offered me a ride, and I turned it down because of Jim Trueman, who’d put his faith behind me and got me to IndyCar.
“At the end of ’84, Roger Penske cornered me at Las Vegas and offered me a ride. And I thought about it, and I said, ‘You know, Jim Trueman’s the one that brought me to the dance. I’m going to stick with Jim Trueman.’ And so loyalty, to me, is more important than anything, because there’s ups and downs in everything, right? And you really want to feel like you have a home when there’s peaks and there’s valleys. That’s the thing that disappoints me the most with Christian’s decision. He obviously didn’t feel that way. And that’s maybe that’s our failing,”
So where might RLL begin its search for Lundgaard’s replacement?
“You know, I feel a great deal of loyalty to Juri Vips (pictured, top) who, arguably, is one of the best Formula 2 guys out there, since many of them are coming over here,” he said of the Estonian who impressed in two RLL outings last year and remains on the payroll as a test and reserve driver.
“He’s been a great, great partner to us. He’s a team guy. I really have a lot of strong sentiment towards Juri. He doesn’t complain; you ask him to do something, he does it, and he does it very well. While I’m sorry to see Christian go, when one door shuts, another door opens and so I’m excited about our future at RLL. We’re going to be OK. We wish Christian well, and you know what? We’re going to go find someone of equal caliber to follow in his footsteps.”
With a number of sponsorship contracts to complete across RLL’s three cars, Rahal doesn’t expect to have the new driver of the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda locked in until August, and he also spoke to suggestions the Midwest grocery store chain is leaving along with Lundgaard.
“We’re still concluding some arrangements with sponsors and what have you, so this is pretty early; but we’re in the midst of working with a number of companies, either new ones or existing ones, to renew or to extend, so we’re not going to really know what the driver situation is till the end of July, and probably more likely the end of August,” he said.
“Hy-Vee has been our sponsor since ’20 when Graham (Rahal) was running a Hy-Vee car in Iowa and finished third, which is really what ignited the interest that Hy-Vee had in joining us in a bigger way. We’ve had different drivers represent them over the years and our relationship with Hy-Vee is very strong. I’m confident that we will be with Hy-Vee in the years to come.”
Christian Lundgaard has been confirmed as the replacement for Alexander Rossi next year in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevy. The change with Rossi comes after months of unsuccessful attempts to negotiate an extension, leading to an amicable decision to …
Christian Lundgaard has been confirmed as the replacement for Alexander Rossi next year in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevy. The change with Rossi comes after months of unsuccessful attempts to negotiate an extension, leading to an amicable decision to split at the end of the season.
The move completes the team’s recent efforts to revamp its NTT IndyCar Series lineup and presents the young Dane with a chance to vie for greater success in one of IndyCar’s top four teams.
It also marks the end of Rossi’s two-year run for Arrow McLaren. He joined from Andretti Global in 2023 and has generated two podiums in the No. 7 entry. Rossi currently holds seventh in the drivers’ championship, one position behind teammate Pato O’Ward.
With the 22-year-old Lundgaard headed over from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Arrow McLaren’s roster in 2025 will become the youngest in IndyCar with O’Ward (25), Lundgaard (who turns 23 later this month), and Nolan Siegel (who turns 20 in November).
For Lundgaard, who sits 11th in the standings with RLL, the chance to join a front-running team is what he’s been pursuing through his agent for more than a year.
Although RLL made strides in moving forward during his tenure, helping Lundgaard to one win, two poles, and three podiums since joining the team full-time in 2022, it hasn’t been able to give him the opportunity to routinely fight for victories, leading to his exploration of the market. For Arrow McLaren, the acquisition of Lundgaard comes at a time where it needs to improve its team-wide performances.
With the disqualification of Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden in March at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix, Arrow McLaren was awarded with a win for O’Ward, who was elevated from second to first, but the team has been stuck in an extended dry spell when it comes to seeing its drivers roll into victory lane.
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The last occurrence happened nearly two years ago—with O’Ward at Iowa on July 24, 2022—which is understood to be a motivating factor in reconfiguring the team’s lineup and try to regain its race-winning form with more than one entry. Since he joined the team in 2020, only O’Ward has produced victories for Arrow McLaren, and with Lundgaard in the frame, the expectation is for the No. 7 Chevy to join O’Ward’s No. 5 Chevy in the win column.
To date, with drivers ranging from Mikhail Aleshin, James Jakes, Marcus Ericsson, Oliver Askew, Felix Rosenqvist, and Rossi, the No. 7 car has finished as high as second on multiple occasions but has not won since it debuted in 2014.
For Rossi, leaving Arrow McLaren comes with challenges to land at a team that would offer the same level of competitiveness upon his arrival. With no known vacancies at Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing, or his former Andretti outfit, the options for the 32-year-old American could be limited to midfield teams that aspire to live among the Penskes, Ganassis, Andrettis, and McLarens on an annual basis.
RLL would be an obvious option, as would Meyer Shank Racing, which is having its best season since it joined the series. Ed Carpenter Racing, A.J. Foyt Racing, and Dale Coyne Racing, along with the incoming PREMA Racing team, could also welcome the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner.
RLL would also have a high-quality seat to fill and no lack of interesting candidates to consider, starting with current employee and reserve driver Juri Vips, free agent Rinus VeeKay, former Arrow McLaren drivers Theo Pourchaire and Callum Ilott, and current MSR stand-in David Malukas.
RACER understands multiple teams have expressed interest in Rossi, who will speak with the media on Wednesday.
Lundgaard’s soon-to-be former team released a statement after Arrow McLaren confirmed the news.
“Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is looking forward to closing out our working relationship with Christian Lundgaard as successfully as possible and thank him for his past efforts on behalf of the team,” it wrote. “We are proud to have brought him into the NTT IndyCar Series and wish him well in the future.”
Arrow McLaren has been shockingly linked to a rising IndyCar Series star for the 2025 season. Which driver could surprisingly join McLaren?
[autotag]Arrow McLaren[/autotag] has been in the center of IndyCar silly season for the last few seasons, and 2024 isn’t a different story. The team has already dumped David Malukas and Theo Pourchaire while signing Nolan Siegel before July. Alexander Rossi is also expected to re-sign with Arrow McLaren; however, will this still come to fruition after the latest shocking report?
According to Tony Donohue, Christian Lungaard is rumored to join Arrow McLaren, with an announcement coming on Wednesday. Lungaard is a rising star in the IndyCar Series and drives for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
It’s unclear if Lungaard would join a fourth car or replace Rossi, as Siegel and Pato O’Ward are signed for the 2025 season. It would be a disappointing development for Rossi, who deserves a top ride in the IndyCar Series. Yet, Arrow McLaren isn’t new to making shocking decisions. Lungaard could be joining a top-tier IndyCar Series team, which should put the series on notice.
Nolan Siegel’s first race for Arrow McLaren produced a solid run to 12th at his home race in the No. 6 Chevy. Among his predecessors in the car this season, Siegel’s finish at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca nearly matched the 10th earned by Theo …
Nolan Siegel’s first race for Arrow McLaren produced a solid run to 12th at his home race in the No. 6 Chevy. Among his predecessors in the car this season, Siegel’s finish at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca nearly matched the 10th earned by Theo Pourchaire at Detroit and the pair of 11ths delivered by Callum Ilott, and with more time to ready himself for the challenge, the 19-year-old expects to take another step at the next race.
“I think overall, it was successful,” the three-time Indy NXT race winner told RACER. “It was tough, and we knew it was going to be a difficult weekend going into it; we had virtually zero preparation. But I feel like as a whole, we made a lot of progress, so that was all we could really ask for. And I feel like we’re in a much better spot going into Mid-Ohio.”
Siegel (second from left) shared the LMP2 victory at Le Mans with Oliver Jarvis and Bijoy Garg. Jakob Ebrey/Motorsport Images
Confirmed as the new driver of the No. 6 entry days before the race in Monterey, Siegel returned home from France with a remarkable debut victory in the LMP2 class in hand and went straight into getting fitted to his new car and shifting to the start of a new multi-year relationship with Arrow McLaren. The surprising split with Pourchaire came with some backlash — aimed mostly at the team — and Siegel was wise to focus on becoming a full-time IndyCar driver.
“I don’t pay attention to it,” he said. “I don’t know how I was expected to get a call offering me a seat at McLaren in IndyCar for multiple years and say no. Of course I’m gonna accept that offer. There was already some interest for the future, and it made sense to start this year, so I’m going to do my best and accepted a great opportunity.”
Siegel’s race, the third of his budding IndyCar career, and with his third team, came with a decent start from 23rd and an abundance of restraint to open the 95-lap contest. Known for his smarts, Siegel followed a plan that prized clean running, and with the exception of a solo spin exiting Turn 2, the plan was followed until it was time to dial up the aggression in the second half of the race. A good strategy call jumped the No. 6 forward, and then Siegel made a number of wheel-to-wheel passes on his way to 12th.
“It’s a long race, and I knew it was going to be a bit chaotic,” he said. “Everything’s so aggressive at Laguna because it’s so hard to pass, so at the beginning, it was about staying clean and not doing anything stupid. The pace on [Firestone] primaries was not as good as the pace on alternates, so once we put alternates on, I felt like our race really came alive.
“Halfway through, I felt like our pace was super strong, and that’s when we started plugging away and undercut a few people on strategy. So that was good. Had some really good out-laps and at the end, once I had kind of gotten comfortable and the pace settled in on alternates, it was fun to actually get racy and pass some people on track. The more laps I did, the more comfortable I got, and I felt like by the end, I was able to actually race people hard and keep up with that top-10 group. That was a nice feeling. And it was the first time that I’ve really made a lot of on-track passes and felt competitive in IndyCar.”
Having team veterans Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi to draw from was a huge bonus for Siegel.
“It was great. They’re both obviously very talented and have been competitive in IndyCar for a long time. So having that experience is huge for me, and they’re both fun people to work with, really nice guys and are willing to help me,” he said. “I think it’s a huge benefit for me. I’m definitely grateful. I don’t think I could really ask for two better teammates to learn from in my first couple races with the team.”
If leaving the Indy NXT series for a big shot in IndyCar with Arrow McLaren wasn’t enough of a change, Siegel is transforming the rest of his life — one largely spent in his native Northern California — to blend with his new team that’s based in Indiana. Driving the No. 6 Chevy will only be part of his workload in the coming weeks and months.
“I have an apartment in Indy, and I’m going to be there quite a bit,” he said. “I just finished up a call with the (physical) trainer; the training program is going to start, nutrition is going to change…everything is going to change. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes, but I’m excited about this new chapter. And I’m gonna be an Indianapolis resident. So, big life changes for me.”
As McLaren Racing contests its fifth season in the NTT IndyCar Series under the Arrow McLaren banner, its CEO, Zak Brown, is actively tracking where the program stands and where the team could be headed. Currently fourth in the championship with …
As McLaren Racing contests its fifth season in the NTT IndyCar Series under the Arrow McLaren banner, its CEO, Zak Brown, is actively tracking where the program stands and where the team could be headed.
Currently fourth in the championship with Pato O’Ward and fifth with Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren is in the thick of another title fight. They’ve been joined by rookie Theo Pourchaire, the reigning Formula 2 champion, who’ll complete the rest of the season in the team’s third car.
Thanks to substantial, ongoing investments from McLaren, Arrow McLaren has grown to field three full-time entries, plus a fourth car at the Indianapolis 500, and has become a routine winner and title contender since McLaren’s arrival in the sport. Its trio of Chevrolet-powered cars are also blanketed with sponsor logos, which speaks to McLaren’s transformational influence on the Indiana-based effort.
Even with its significant progress, the team continues to pursue its first Indy 500 victory and to crown its first champion. Now five years in, and despite the challenges to reach its full potential, Brown says there’s no end in sight for Arrow McLaren in American racing.
“We just acquired Andretti Global’s facility. We’re going to move into it next year and make a substantial investment in what is already a great building. We’re fully committed to being in Indianapolis,” Brown told RACER ahead of this weekend’s Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix and Road America IndyCar races. “That commitment extends to our wider presence in North America and this team over the long term. Our decisions are driven by what’s in the best interest of our team and sponsors. Those are the key stakeholders we look after: Our people, our sponsors, and our fans. It’s the foundation here that has already brought the great success we continue to build upon.”
A Los Angeles native, Brown fell in love with racing at an early age, attending the Long Beach Grand Prix where his passion for the sport — with F1 and IndyCar serving as early influences — led to driving in junior open-wheel training categories before turning his attention to the industry’s business side. Through the formation of Just Marketing International, Brown and his company became known for its blockbuster sponsorship deals struck between major corporations, teams and racing series.
When McLaren asked Brown to lead and rehabilitate its F1 program in 2016, he developed an expansion plan to implement once its grand prix organization regained its form. Spurred by his lifelong passion for IndyCar, McLaren’s first move was the creation of a domestic open-wheel program in the U.S. within IndyCar. Further expansion came when the team joined the all-electric FIA Formula E and FIA Extreme E championships.
Brown keenly monitors McLaren Racing’s cadre of worldwide racing initiatives, and as such, he has strong opinions on which sanctioning bodies are trending up or down.
Phillip Abbott/Motorsport Images
“I’ve always been a massive fan of IndyCar. It’s got tremendous potential. The Indy 500 is iconic. But in a day and age where everyone’s developing new cars and really focused on growth through digital (social media and streaming), we think that despite its strengths, IndyCar has a lot of catching up to do,” he said.
“The race calendar needs work. We need to ensure that the whole series isn’t contingent upon the Indy 500. We need a schedule with more fullness so that fans don’t tune out after the month of May. The product can certainly use a freshening as well. Formula 1 is known for having new race cars — those annual reveals and updates are immensely important not just to the teams, but to the fans. Domestically, you can look at IMSA and NASCAR and say that everybody’s racing product is being freshened or renewed on a more regular basis.
“Certainly, IndyCar’s on-track competition is great, but it’s not just about passes; the quality of the racing is critical. When you have events like we’ve seen at Laguna Seca, and Detroit more recently, we all can say that they didn’t represent the caliber of competition that we expect from the pinnacle of U.S. single-seater racing — certainly not as teams, and certainly not as an entertainment product for the fans we all do this for.”
To that end, IMSA, with its thriving hybrid GTP cars and expansive GT categories, has Brown’s full attention.
“McLaren Automotive loves its presence in North America, and we’re very intrigued by IMSA,” he continued. “Of course, we’re always forward-looking with regard to our racing portfolio. We’re very excited to be in IndyCar, but we expect to see substantial changes here over the next few years because the reality is that our digital growth, our television ratings, our race schedule and our product freshness aren’t where they need to be. Most people recognize that.
“We’re confident that these issues will be addressed. Those are the things that IndyCar must be fully committed to fixing for the long term. At the same time, we think IMSA is doing a wonderful job. It’s got a thrilling modern-day product with exciting races at legendary venues in Daytona and Sebring; they race in Long Beach, Watkins Glen, and they go to Indy now, and they have a tentpole race in Petit Le Mans to conclude the season. IMSA has substantial investment behind it from a wide range of manufacturers; its momentum is real, and there’s room for continued growth.”
Brown is keeping a firm eye on the calendar and the pace of IndyCar’s progress to modernize itself. With the FIA unveiling its new-car plans for 2026 this week, Brown wants to see IndyCar share in his sense of urgency to improve itself.
“Sports in general continue to evolve quickly. Just look at the way baseball has improved itself, and how golf has embraced new thinking as it works to drive the sport forward,” he said.
“If we look at the motorsports landscape, we’ve now just seen the future of Formula 1. We’re seeing the future of sports cars play out in real time. IndyCar has a very strong foundation and brand, but we need to accelerate our efforts to match the growth we’re seeing in other disciplines because we have room for significant improvement.
“We’re excited and optimistic that we’re going to have an increased television package, which is critical to the sport. Our TV ratings are not where they should be, and we can see by Formula 1, as an example, how quickly a sport can grow if you get these dynamics right. Look at Formula 1 and what it’s done on growing its fan base; it’s driven a more diverse, younger and female audience. A lot of that has been achieved through new digital media and we think that’s a real opportunity IndyCar has yet to seize. We should embrace and capitalize on the success Formula 1 has brought to motorsports as a whole in North America.
“What might seem like a small point, but we think has been significantly impactful in Formula 1, is proper podiums. We shouldn’t underestimate the attention podium celebrations get and the breadth of broadcast social media imagery they generate. The new podium bridge at Detroit looked great — those are the types of upgrades we want to see more of. There’s a lot we can learn from other sports that we need to apply quickly, because we think we are underserving our fan base.”
Utilizing a bridge over the Detroit street circuit to create a winner’s podium represents the type of creative thinking Brown would like to see more of. Brett Farmer/Motorsport Images
Brown’s narrative on how McLaren chose to enter IndyCar — just prior to the “Drive To Survive” effect that turned F1 into a global phenomenon — is filled with insights and realities that could chart Arrow McLaren’s future path.
“We are always trying to create the most exciting racing team in the world so that we can offer our sponsors a deep, broad commercial portfolio that presents them with many partnership options, especially as corporate partners evolve and change priorities,” he said.
“Likewise, we’re always looking to create opportunities for employee growth. Sometimes that comes within a team, and sometimes that opportunity comes from changing racing series. We’ve done this with people from our Formula 1 team and our Formula E team, moving drivers, sponsors and so on around. This helps us keep up with the fast pace of changing tastes — what’s immensely popular today might not be in the future, and vice versa.
“For example, one of the main reasons we got involved in IndyCar was Formula 1. Formula 1’s presence in North America was lacking not long ago before Netflix worked its wonders. And so when we’d be out selling to sponsors, one of the largest showstoppers was Formula 1 because it didn’t work for most of them in North America. Now look how times have changed. For most of those companies, North America is a huge marketplace, but before it took off like it has, Formula 1 was a problem for us here. Today, we can’t sell Formula 1 fast enough.
Brown sees F1’s expanding popularity with younger fans following directly from its investment in digital media. Sam Bagnall/Motorsport Images
“So we felt getting into IndyCar, which obviously has a long and established name here, would help ring the bell, if you like, for our North American presence. But that’s all changed since Formula 1 exploded in this market. Apart from the Indy 500, Formula 1 pulls larger television ratings than IndyCar. It’s no longer filling a void because the void went away. Now we need to ask ourselves: What else does an IndyCar or an IMSA provide McLaren Racing?”
With Arrow McLaren’s deep commitment to racing in the U.S., the options for where it might compete are based on the value a series can offer.
“For many of our partners, North America is certainly one of, if not the most important market outright. So even with Formula 1 being as big as it is in North America, I want to add another layer to the cake,” Brown said. “We want to be bigger than all of our Formula 1 competitors in North America, so you look at what’s out there. You have IMSA, which we think came up with some fantastic rules. Just look at the number of manufacturers that have gravitated to IMSA and WEC. It almost feels like an overnight success, and with our McLaren Automotive business, its largest market is North America.
“As we look at what our long-term strategic objectives are, wheels start turning. Working with McLaren Automotive, potentially around a prototype sports car program, suddenly becomes pretty interesting.
“You can see we’re dipping our toe in the water because we’re running a couple of (McLaren 720S) GT3s in the World Endurance Championship and we have a partnership with Pfaff Motorsports in IMSA. That’s not by accident. Let’s just start planting some seeds in those championships, because we’re a big believer of what we’re seeing out of them, and that might be something in a few years’ time that we want to go all-in on.
“Obviously, we have to evaluate how much commercial sponsorship we can raise in any one particular market. With my passion for racing, I’d love to do it all, but business will drive where we go racing, not my personal passion.”
Brett Farmer/Motorsport Images
IndyCar team owner Roger Penske purchased the series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at the same time McLaren acquired a majority stake in the former Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports IndyCar operation. Since 2020, Penske has rejected multiple offers to buy the series, which includes at least one inquiry from Formula 1 and MotoGP owner Liberty Media.
If it’s going to prosper under Penske’s command, Brown would like to see changes in the tight financial reins applied to the series.
“Our sport requires more investment that will pay off by delivering real, tangible value to both IndyCar and its teams,” he said. “If you look at what Liberty Media invested in the Las Vegas Grand Prix as an example, I can tell you we have significantly more sponsorship today because of the excitement that Las Vegas created.
“So we think you can look at payback around specific investments in the short term, but also in the long term. Look at the value of what Formula E is worth, what charters in NASCAR are worth, the team value that Formula 1 has created. Williams was sold for $150 million five years ago, and I believe today, their price is around $1.5 billion.
“So in five years, they’ve 10x’d the value of the sport, and that should be the level of expectation we all have in IndyCar. Make our sport 10x in value creation for all the stakeholders over the next five years. That should be the trajectory and ambition we have. A lot of that will require investment — but it will pay back over that period.”
Arrow McLaren’s Theo Pourchaire and Marshall Pruett discuss Friday’s IndyCar practice session at Road America, plus some of the controversy in the wake of the Detroit GP including updates on JHR’s Agustin Canapino. RACER’s Trackside Report at Road …
Arrow McLaren’s Theo Pourchaire and Marshall Pruett discuss Friday’s IndyCar practice session at Road America, plus some of the controversy in the wake of the Detroit GP including updates on JHR’s Agustin Canapino.
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Another stirring drive at the Indianapolis 500 has only helped Callum Ilott’s stock value rise in the NTT IndyCar Series. Starting 15th for the Arrow McLaren team, Ilott was the first car to visit pit lane – during the parade laps – to deal with a …
Another stirring drive at the Indianapolis 500 has only helped Callum Ilott’s stock value rise in the NTT IndyCar Series.
Starting 15th for the Arrow McLaren team, Ilott was the first car to visit pit lane — during the parade laps — to deal with a failed weight jacker, and after starting from the back of the 33-car field, he spent the race going backwards and forwards on the way to finishing 11th, one spot better than in 2023 when he went from 27th to 12th for Juncos Hollinger Racing.
With an interesting free agent pool that includes 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi plus race winners Christian Lundgaard and Rinus VeeKay, Ilott is drawing plenty of attention from IndyCar teams, and in a new twist, opportunities of equal or greater size are emerging for him in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Entering the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ilott and his teammates at the privateer Hertz Team JOTA program are holding a prime second place in the WEC’s Hypercar championship after securing a second to open the season and a win at the most recent round with their hybrid Porsche 963.
As a result, the lifelong open-wheeler has become the big new name in international endurance racing and is being courted by major factories to join their Hypercar programs, and has IndyCar teams inquiring about his availability.
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It comes in stark contrast to where he sat nearly 10 months ago when his relationship with the Juncos Hollinger team was at an all-time low. After a season filled with disagreements with the outfit over its handling of social media attacks fired at Ilott by some of his teammate’s fans, he split with the team — despite have one more year on his contract — as the situation became untenable for the Briton.
“I think things are not just looking up career-wise, but also mentally,” Ilott told RACER. “You have to hit some lows to feel good about the position you’re in, and JOTA helped me out of that situation at the end of last year and I knew I could do a good job in that position. We’re currently P2 in the championship as a privateer team and I’m thoroughly impressed with the team. They’re thoroughly impressed with me, I hope. And that has re-ignited the competition side that maybe I’ve missed after being a reserve driver in Formula 1, and then again fighting for top 10s the last couple of years in IndyCar has helped massively.”
Ilott helped make JOTA’s privateer Porsche 963 a Hypercar winner at Spa, although his WEC success limited his IndyCar availability this season. Motorsport Images
With his WEC schedule presenting a handful of conflicts with the remaining IndyCar races, Arrow McLaren chose to sign 2023 Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire to complete the calendar in the No. 6 Chevy. But with Meyer Shank Racing’s recent call to park Tom Blomqvist in the No. 66 Chevy, there’s a possibility of seeing Ilott in action at some of the road and street course events left to run.
And then there’s 2025 where his services could be called upon by a few IndyCar teams who’ve inquired about a certain front-running veteran to improve their results. On the other end of the scale, Ilott, the former Ferrari Driver Academy member, will need to weigh the offers and stability presented with factory Hypercar seats in the WEC.
“Getting these opportunities in IndyCar this year was unexpected and I never know what might happen later on in the season,” he said. “It was a privilege and a bonus to race with Arrow McLaren. I think being in a good headspace and without any pressure, maybe that helped with the results. Getting integrated in a last-minute scenario was not too easy, but they were happy with the job I did and it was solid and I built a good relationship with them. Everything positive on that side and it’s nice to be back in that trusted place to do a good job. Both in Europe and the U.S.
“It’s just nice to be getting these opportunities and to be on people’s minds because I think 2022 was strong for that (with Juncos Hollinger) and 2023 seemed to slowly slip away as the year went on. But we’re back where we belong and I feel our future is in a good place.”
