McLaren has announced the surprise signing of Nolan Siegel as a replacement for Theo Pourchaire at its IndyCar team with immediate effect.
Pourchaire was hired by McLaren at the beginning of last month as a replacement for David Malukas, who was unable to take up his place at the team in the opening rounds due to injury.
Siegel, 19, has agreed a long-term deal to drive for the team which includes the rest of this season plus 2025 and more. He will drive the number six car.
“Stability and sustained growth are key to our long-term game plan here, and this is a significant step in that mission,” said team principal Gavin Ward. “First, I want to thank Theo for his time filling in on the number six car with us in recent weeks.
“We’ve been working through musical chairs all season, and ultimately, making this change to Nolan now that he’s available gives us the chance to build a foundation for the future. He is a young, talented driver with an immense amount of experience at this stage of his career and we’re excited to continue on the upward journey together.”
The news appears to have come as a surprise to Pourchaire, who expressed his excitement for the upcoming event on social media yesterday. “I can’t believe I’m gonna race on the legendary Laguna Seca this weekend,” he wrote in a now-deleted post. “Can’t wait to be there for the Grand Prix of Monterey.” Pourchaire left a drive in Japan’s Super Formula series to join McLaren’s IndyCar team.
Siegel said the move is “an unexpected jump, but I’m thrilled to be in this position after a rewarding run in the Indy Nxt by Firestone series with HMD Motorsports.
“I am looking forward to this new journey and learning alongside the entire team starting this weekend in my home state.”
The news is the latest development in a busy few weeks for Siegel. He failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 after crashing on his final run, then received an 11th-hour call-up from Juncos Hollinger to substitute for Agustin Canapino at the last IndyCar round two weeks ago.
Last week he scored a class win at the Le Mans 24 Hours in an LMP2 car run by United Autosports, which is co-owned by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. Siegel shared the car with Oliver Jarvis and Bijoy Garg.
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