McLaren in IndyCar: How the papaya team are looking to break America
When racing gets underway at the 2022 IndyCar season opener in St Petersburg, Florida, on Sunday it will herald a new era in motorsport for McLaren Racing.
The British outfit and offshoot of the luxury carmaker, better known for their Formula 1 success, are embarking on their first season as majority owners of Arrow McLaren SP, having upped their minority stake in the IndyCar team to 75 per cent in November.
“It allows you to earnestly invest in the team and the programme,” Arrow McLaren SP team principal Taylor Kiel told City PM
“You’ve now got real skin in the game, you’re able to embrace the IndyCar team as a real part of the family and we’ve seen that at every level, from racing to marketing to PR and comms.
“It’s been great for our team, it’s been quite the journey so far but it certainly positions us in a strong way.
“McLaren’s history and heritage and gravitas speaks for itself. It’s exciting for us to be part of that now but it does come with a tremendous amount of responsibility.
“We’re the brand putting sticks out in North America right now. I think that’s a great opportunity for us to perform at a high level and continue to perform upon that history.”
McLaren are traversing the world of motorsport. As well as their long-standing history in Formula 1 and recent venture into IndyCar, they now also have a team in Extreme E, the all-electric off-road series, who competed in their first race last weekend.
F1 Encroachment
The monumental rise of F1 in North America – 2022 will see a second Grand Prix, in Miami, added to calendar – fuelled by Netflix series Drive to Survive threatens to squeeze out IndyCar. Kiel, however, isn’t worried.
“I’m very comfortable,” he said. “Any time you can elevate motorsport it floats all boats. We’re all kind of in this in our own right.
“As an IndyCar team part of McLaren, I think it’s fantastic. It only strengthens our overall programmes. I would say the Formula 1 presence in North America has been great for us as McLaren SP and for McLaren Racing.
“We have a massive fanbase in America, and it only allows us more opportunities to collaborate together.
“We are in contact with IndyCar leadership, almost daily, and I know that they lean into us a fair bit on the state of the union in Formula 1. They’re looking to understand how they can make the IndyCar brand better. But it is not just Formula 1, it’s Nascar and any other form of motorsport.
“IndyCar does a good job of trying to stay on the front foot. We have a fair way to go as both teams and a sanctioning body, but the communication is great.”
Kiel’s IndyCar team consists of young Mexican Pato O’Ward, who finished third in the championship last year, and Swede Felix Rosenqvist, who was a disappointing 21st.
For the Indy500, Arrow McLaren SP have also retained the services of veteran racer Juan Pablo Montoya, a two-time winner of the season showpiece.
“I’m very selfish but I am excited to see what our team can do,” Kiel added when asked about who piques his interest in 2022.
“I’m excited to see Felix. He’s coming into this season with a chip on his shoulder, he’s got a lot to prove.
“Last year, arguably, was one of his worst in motorsport, and he will tell you that, but he has worked very hard and our team has worked very hard over the off-season to make sure he has everything he needs.
“And I’m excited to see Pato. He’s tasted what a championship might feel like last year and he didn’t quite get to take a bite so I think he’s very hungry and motivated.”
Mexican making waves
O’Ward, who has been tipped as a potential F1 prospect, is preparing for his third season in IndyCar at the age of just 23.
“We had a very solid and motivating year as a base and we will try to get some more of that magic happening again,” O’Ward told City PM
“It’s going to be tough like it is every year, and it’s going to be harder and harder every year because of the teams coming in and a lot of really good drivers. It’s really competitive.”
O’Ward, born in Monterrey in Northern Mexico, came third in the championship last year but was right in the fight until the final race of the season
McLaren Racing big cheese Zak Brown promised O’Ward a test drive in the papaya colours of a McLaren F1 car if he impressed in IndyCar last year. After last year’s finale in Abu Dhabi, O’Ward collected on the pledge.
“Man, it was awesome,” he added. “What was so cool about that experience was being able to truly take myself back to when I was younger and trying new things and try something bigger and faster.
“All you can do is have a massive smile on your face.
“I understand we are here for entertainment and we are here to win but I was able to put that aside and just go out and enjoy driving the amazing machine that it is.
“You remember when you’re young and why you do this.
“The same passion that drives you to work out, to eat well, to make yourself the best racing driver possible.”
O’Ward does not hide his ambitions to cross over. “If the opportunity arises I’ve got to take it because my dream to become a racing driver started with Formula 1,” he said.
“The opportunity has to be the right one and a lot of factors come into play. Right now I am focused on IndyCar and enjoying my time.
“Who knows, maybe the rest of my [driving] life will be in IndyCar, or maybe it will take a switch?
“I truly don’t know but if I can take advantage of what F1 has to offer, I want to be able to grow and exploit that.”
Competitive season for McLaren
This weekend’s race is the first of 17 in a competition that Kiel says offers a more competitive alternative to F1.
“Our series is a spec series, there’s only a handful of items teams can make on their own,” he added.
“The car-to-car variation is minimal so it comes down to operational execution and the drivers.
“Some teams operate a bit better than others and some drivers are better than others but last year we had eight or nine different winners and the championship comes down to the final event every year.
“Whereas in Formula 1 the constructors have separated themselves and you have the haves and have nots, IndyCar races are extremely exciting and they make you sit on the edge of your seat until the chequered flag.”