Mclaren takes major stake in Indy team
Mclaren Racing is to acquire a 75% stake in the Arrow Mclaren SP Indycar team by the end of this year, its second since returning to North American top-line racing after four decades away.
The team was founded by former Indycar racer Sam Schmidt in 2001, with Ric Peterson joining in 2013 to form Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM). Mclaren returned to full-time Indycar competition in 2020 to create Arrow Mclaren SP as a strategic partnership with title sponsor Arrow Electronics and SPM.
Under the new structure, the team will be governed by a fiveperson board, comprising three Mclaren Racing appointees together with Schmidt and Peterson, and chaired by Mclaren CEO Zak
Brown. Arrow Mclaren SP president Taylor Kiel will continue to lead and oversee the operations, reporting directly to the board.
The team’s Pato O’ward currently lies third in the championship with five rounds left to run.
The Mexican’s team-mate Felix Rosenqvist has suffered a troubled season, and missed two races following an accident due to a mechanical issue, but he looked far stronger at last weekend’s inaugural Nashville street circuit round.
Brown confirmed in Nashville that both drivers will remain for 2022, but also stated that the team is seeking to expand to three full-time entries sooner rather than later.
“I think the racing team is doing really really well,” said Brown, “and hopefully we can help turbocharge and accelerate its growth. We would like to run another car in 2023 – possibly in 2022 if we an find the right combination. We look at the way Penske goes racing with all of their cars capable of winning, and that’s what we want to emulate.”
He later added: “It’s just about getting the right package together. We have resources so the economics are not a concern. We have to make sure that we get the right pilot in the race car, and there’s not a lot of them on the market. So we’ve got a very short list, and if we can land someone that we think is capable of winning we’ll go for it in 2022; if not, we’ll spend 2022 making sure we find the right driver for 2023.”
AMSP ran an extra car in the Indy 500 for Fernando Alonso in 2020 and Juan Pablo Montoya this year. Asked if Mclaren’s current F1 stars Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo could take part in the 500, Brown said: “They’d both like to do it, but they’re very focused on Formula 1. Nothing in the immediate future but we’ll see.”
Romain Grosjean’s frequently sparkling performances in his rookie Indycar season with Dale Coyne Racing have attracted the attention of several rival teams, primarily Andretti Autosport.
Initially it was believed that the salary the ex-f1 driver was seeking exceeded what team owner Michael Andretti was prepared to pay, and that Ryan Hunter-reay and James Hinchcliffe would be replaced by two current AA Indy Lights drivers, Kyle Kirkwood and Devlin Defrancesco.
But Autosport understands that Grosjean’s talks with Andretti have resumed, as he has not only lowered his expectations but also appeals to the #28 Hunter-reay car’s longtime primary sponsor DHL, whose
contract expires at season’s end.
That said, Dale Coyne still believes he has a good chance of retaining Grosjean. “I think he’s happy with us, although I realise lots of people are looking at him right now,” he told Autosport. “We’ve done a good job for him, I think he understands that.
“We took a chance on him, he took a chance on us, and I think it’s worked out good for both of us and I hope that pays off for both of us and we’re able to keep him next year.”
Another European will make his Indycar debut this weekend on the Indianapolis road course. Two-time Formula 2 race winner Christian Lundgaard will take over the ‘extra’ Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry driven in five of this year’s races by Santino Ferrucci. The Alpine Academy driver tested for RLLR alongside Oliver Askew at Barber Motorsports Park two weeks ago.