The INDYCAR season is wrapping up, but Silly Season is not nearly over — but it is for Arrow McLaren. That team’s lineup will look very different in 2027.
Arrow McLaren is keeping key talent in Pato O’Ward, but it’s welcoming six-time INDYCAR champ and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon and 2026 Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist next season. For McLaren CEO Zak Brown, a lineup shake-up shows the team isn’t just chasing the occasional spark but trying to build a roster of perennial contenders.
Ahead of last weekend’s Freedom 250 in Washington, D.C., Brown sat down with FOX Sports INDYCAR broadcaster Will Buxton to discuss Arrow McLaren’s upcoming lineup changes and the team’s aspirations for next season.
With Dixon and Rosenqvist in, along with O’Ward, Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel are out and still looking for 2027 rides. Lundgaard, though, is heavily favored to go to Chip Ganassi Racing.
Brown hinted toward a shift to a veteran-heavy lineup focused strictly on winning championships and the Indy 500.
“The investment we’ve made is, I think, demonstrating to everyone our commitment to win,” Brown said. “We’re trying to show everyone that we’re a racing team. Look at what we’re doing at Formula 1. Look what we’re doing here in INDYCAR.”
Arrow McLaren has won three races this season, with Lundgaard taking two and O’Ward winning the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Now, Brown believes they’re in a position to challenge for the championship and at the level they need to be for success.
Christian Lundgaard will be on the move in 2027 and likely to Chip Ganassi Racing.
“I think we bleed racing and performance,” Brown said. “We’re massively passionate, and it’s taken awhile to get the INDYCAR team to the level where I think we’re now going to be in a position to compete for a championship.”
Brown knows Arrow McLaren is right on the brink of a championship. With the Indy 500 as the biggest proving ground for success, he believes adding veteran experience to the roster could play a big role in pushing them over the hump.
“We’ve been so close,” Brown said. “We’ve led a lot at the Indy 500, and we brought Fernando Alonso over and I hope what he has seen is that this team’s ready to compete for championships, and it’s a new challenge for him.”
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