2025 McLaren IndyCar Preview: O'Ward Leads Revamped Team with New Lineup

2025 McLaren IndyCar Preview: O'Ward Leads Revamped Team with New Lineup

By Michael Harrison

February 14, 2025 at 02:22 AM

The Arrow McLaren team heads into the 2025 IndyCar season with major organizational changes and an exciting new driver lineup. The team now operates under full McLaren Racing ownership, with Tony Kanaan stepping in as team principal for his first season leading a racing team.

Driver Lineup:

  • Pato O'Ward (#5 Chevy) - Team leader seeking championship after finishing 5th in 2024
  • Christian Lundgaard (#7 Chevy) - New addition from RLL Racing, replacing Alexander Rossi
  • Nolan Siegel (#6 Chevy) - Rookie driver for his first full season

IndyCar races at Milwaukee Mile track

IndyCar races at Milwaukee Mile track

Key Changes for 2025:

  • Complete McLaren Racing ownership takeover
  • Tony Kanaan appointed as team principal
  • Christian Lundgaard joins as new driver
  • Kate Gundlach moves to race engineer for Siegel
  • Scott Harner joins as director of race operations

Primary Objectives:

  • O'Ward aims for championship contention and improved qualifying
  • Lundgaard expected to challenge O'Ward's team leadership
  • Siegel focused on development in rookie season
  • Team targeting both championship and Indy 500 victory

Team Principal Kanaan's Goals:

  • O'Ward to compete for championship and Indy 500
  • Lundgaard to finish in top 5
  • Siegel to place in top 10-12
  • All three cars to finish in top 10 overall

The team faces the challenge of integrating numerous changes while maintaining competitive performance. Success will depend on how quickly the revamped organization can gel and whether O'Ward and Lundgaard can push each other to higher performance levels.

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