Our penultimate IndyCar Wrap-Up has us at Arrow McLaren, which is coming off arguably its best season since McLaren joined the fray ahead of the 2020 season. McLaren had two drivers at the top of the championship, and for the first time it felt like the team had a driver combination capable of winning races. Only one driver won, but that likely will not be the case moving forward. McLaren ended up coming closest to Álex Palou, but like the rest of the field, it has work to do to close that gap.
Patricio O'Ward
For the last few seasons, O'Ward has been at the top of IndyCar but has never firmly grasped being the best in the series. It is hard to do considering the competition, but on a few occasions, O'Ward would slip in his own right and let days get away from him. In 2025, O'Ward had his best IndyCar season. Everyone was competing for second, and O'Ward drove consistent enough to earn that spot.
What objectively was his best race?
O'Ward took two victories this season. The first was the first Iowa race where a slightly quicker pit stop allowed him to overtake Josef Newgarden through the final pit cycle after Newgarden had led the first 232 laps. The other was at Toronto where stopping early and having each caution go his way allowed O'Ward to win from tenth on the grid.
What subjectively was his best race?
It was neither of his victories. It is actually a race that got away from him. At Thermal Club, O'Ward was on for a banger of a day. He had driven to over a ten-second lead over Álex Palou, and it looked like O'Ward was set to win in convincing fashion with 64 of 65 laps led from pole position with fastest lap to boot.
The only problem is O'Ward's team decided to end on the primary tire compound while Palou had a fresh set of alternate tires. Palou erased the ten-second deficit in seven laps before opening up a margin of victory over ten seconds to O'Ward.
Not often does a driver lose a race and it was his subjective best, but this one came down to tire strategy, and I don't fault O'Ward nor his team for thinking a primary set of tires would be enough to hold on to a ten-second lead with 16 laps remaining. O'Ward drove a splendid race. Palou's team had an ace up its sleeve and it paid off.
It would have been wrong to ignore O'Ward's day at Thermal Club because it was rather impressive, and it was going to be an early statement from him and the McLaren team until Palou stole the show.
What objectively was his worst race?
The championship ended at Portland when wiring issues caused O'Ward to slow on lap 21 and it ended any hope of keeping the championship alive into Milwaukee. O'Ward ended up ten laps down in 25th.
What subjectively was his worst race?
Nashville was likely O'Ward's best race of the season, but with how it ended, and how it ended O'Ward's season, it is hard to draw any positives from it. O'Ward was unstoppable at Nashville. From pole position, O'Ward led 116 of the first 126 laps. It felt like no one had an answer for him. A right front tire failure was the only thing that could stop him, and it did. O'Ward lost the right front in turn two and it sent him into the barrier. A chance at victory was gone and his season ended with a 24th-place result when he was the best driver on the day.
Patricio O'Ward's 2025 Statistics
Championship Position: 2nd (515 points)
Wins: 2
Podiums: 6
Top Fives: 10
Top Tens: 12
Laps Led: 258
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 4
Fast Twelves: 9
Average Start: 7.588
Average Finish: 8.411
Wins: 2
Podiums: 6
Top Fives: 10
Top Tens: 12
Laps Led: 258
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 4
Fast Twelves: 9
Average Start: 7.588
Average Finish: 8.411
Christian Lundgaard
Lundgaard was taking a step up in 2025 moving to Arrow McLaren after three seasons at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. If the Dane could be a top ten championship driver and a race winner at RLLR, he would surely find success at McLaren. Unlike the number of drivers to join the team since 2020, Lundgaard firmly established himself as a threat. For the first part of the season, Lundgaard was the team leader.
What objectively was his best race?
Three times was Lundgaard a runner-up in the 2025 season. The first was at Barber Motorsports Park before he had consecutive runner-up finishes at Laguna Seca and Portland.
What subjectively was his best race?
Barber Motorsports Park felt like the race where Lundgaard was firmly set as a competitive driver at McLaren. Through the first four races, he was better than O'Ward. At Barber, Lundgaard drove from seventh to second with some impressive passes on his teammate as well as Will Power and Scott McLaughlin. He still finished over 16 seconds behind Palou, but Lundgaard did his darn best to be best of the rest.
What objectively was his worst race?
Three laps before O'Ward's tire failure at Nashville, Lundgaard pulled into the pit lane with a mechanical issue and retired from the race. In a blink, McLaren had two cars done for the season in 24th and 25th respectively for the finale.
What subjectively was his worst race?
Nashville was a tough way to end the season. The Grand Prix of Indianapolis is another race to earmark. Lundgaard has run well on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in his career. In 2025, he had a good starting position in seventh, but an improper blend out of the pit lane led to a penalty that shuffled him back to 16th. Considering he had three consecutive podium finishes entering that race, this was a tough way for such a positive run of form to end.
Christian Lundgaard's 2025 Statistics
Championship Position: 5th (431 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 6
Top Fives: 6
Top Tens: 11
Laps Led: 54
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 6
Fast Twelves: 10
Average Start: 10
Average Finish: 9.588
Wins: 0
Podiums: 6
Top Fives: 6
Top Tens: 11
Laps Led: 54
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 6
Fast Twelves: 10
Average Start: 10
Average Finish: 9.588
Nolan Siegel
In his first full season with Arrow McLaren, Siegel was hoping whatever he picked up from running most of the races in 2024 would lead him to better results, especially at tracks he would be visiting for the second time. We still saw growing pains for Siegel, and those were amplified as his two teammates were regularly at the front.
What objectively was his best race?
Siegel was eighth at Road America despite making five pit stops and starting 13th on the grid.
What subjectively was his best race?
It is Road America. His only other top ten finish was ninth at Barber Motorsports Park.
What objectively was his worst race?
Siegel was hit at the start of the St. Petersburg race with contact from Will Power spinning him into the barrier. Without completing a lap, Siegel was classified in 25th for the first race of the season.
What subjectively was his worst race?
Siegel was the best rookie on track at the start of the final lap of the Indianapolis 500. He was 12th on the road, and then he spun in turn two. Considering what happened to the two Andretti cars that finished in the top ten, Siegel could have finished tenth on his Indianapolis 500 debut had he just made it another two-thirds of a lap. He still was placed in 13th after the post-race penalties were applied, but he could have had this clear bright spot for his season had he been able to complete one more lap.
It should also be noted that Siegel missed the second Iowa race after having an accident in race one and not being cleared to drive the next day. Missing a race is tough regardless of how the season is going.
Nolan Siegel's 2025 Statistics
Championship Position: 22nd (213 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 2
Laps Led: 11
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 4
Average Start: 13.705
Average Finish: 17.25
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 2
Laps Led: 11
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 2
Fast Twelves: 4
Average Start: 13.705
Average Finish: 17.25
An Early Look Ahead
McLaren has a 1-2 combination it has never had in IndyCar. One driver won races while the other was frequently in the picture and will likely win in 2026. The team went 2-4 in the championship with the only drivers ahead and between from Chip Ganassi Racing. McLaren has never been closer to the IndyCar championship since it returned to the series.
Things could go McLaren's way. Palou isn't going to win eight races a season every season. Everything comes to an end. Only one driver has won four consecutive championships in IndyCar history. Life is a number's game. The odds are against Palou. Why couldn't McLaren be the benefactor of those odds? It has positioned itself to be next in line, and it has two drivers there to slide into the top spot.
For the slow start to the season, O'Ward did assert himself as the top McLaren driver, but Lundgaard will likely improve next season. Lundgaard has likely worked through some of the rough patches and the #7 McLaren team likely have a better understanding of how things work. If Lundgaard gets off to a hot start again like he did in 2025, I don't know if it is a certainty O'Ward will get back ahead.
Ovals are the one thing working in O'Ward's favor. Lundgaard did better this year but he has some work to do to be a contender. He was at least getting top ten finishes, but to win a championship it would be helpful to sneak onto the podium in a few oval races. Perhaps Lundgaard can get to that level in 2026.
The expectation should be more next season. More from O'Ward and more from Lundgaard. Both drivers should be winning races. If both drivers can win two or three times, as long as they aren't taking each other out, they could both challenge for the title.
Then there is Siegel. Considering the short leash McLaren has given other drivers, 2026 will be make-or-break. Alexander Rossi, Felix Rosenqvist and Oliver Askew were all cast aside earlier and with far better results to their name than Siegel has achieved in his season-plus time with the organization. He might bring some money but not enough that isn't replaceable to the organization. He only turns 21 years old in November, but McLaren isn't going to subscribe to a long experiment.
If McLaren is running three cars, it is going to want all three to be at the front. We know Team Penske can have three cars battling at the front, and Andretti Global has the pieces on paper to do the same. McLaren cannot afford to have a third car trudging along at the back, and there are plenty of capable drivers on the sidelines.
There are plenty of positives to draw from 2025. Looking at all the pieces, McLaren has what it takes for something greater next season.
