Arrow McLaren’s driver lineup has been one of the hottest and most controversial topics in the NTT IndyCar Series’ world since the middle of 2022 and, for better or for worse, things don’t seem to have changed.
The team’s June 18 announcement that Nolan Siegel would take over driving duties for their No. 6 Chevrolet was only the latest entry in an uncomfortably long string of driver drama dating back to summer 2022. Siegel’s promotion comes at the expense of Theo Pourchaire, who piloted the car for five races between Long Beach and Road America.
Pourchaire was announced on May 9 to be taking over the No. 6 after the team opted to part ways with David Malukas, who was still recovering from a wrist injury suffered in the offseason. At the time the plan was for Pourchaire to finish out the 2024 calendar with McLaren bar one race, the Indianapolis 500, where Callum Ilott would be in the cockpit.
That makes, in the last year, six drivers that have had their hands, real or proverbial, on a seat in McLaren’s second of three cars. More concerning than that number, an average driver tenure of two months, is that the bulk of McLaren’s moves relating to the No. 6 car have been poorly received by many observers.
And, ironically enough, the driver with perhaps the most skin in this mess has never been so much as photographed in a McLaren orange t-shirt. To put the whole picture together, let’s begin there.
Order in the Court
Alex Palou, two-time IndyCar champion and driver of Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 10 Honda, was initially reported to be re-signing with Ganassi for 2023. The drama started almost immediately when Palou put out a tweet asserting that not only was he not coming back with CGR, but that the team had published a false quote under his name in their press release.
Palou and McLaren then confirmed that they had reached an agreement for the Spaniard to join the team for 2023 alongside Felix Rosenqvist.
At this time, Palou’s name was legitimately in the ring for a seat at the McLaren Formula 1 team, though it was unclear in what capacity the then-defending IndyCar champion could expect to join the team as Oscar Piastri was embroiled in a very similar…
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