It is finally time to stop all speculation around Scott Dixon’s future in IndyCar, as Arrow McLaren has finally announced his arrival on the team.

Bob Pockrass caught up with Tony Kanaan after the announcement. When asked whether hiring Scott Dixon had anything to do with the icy relationship between McLaren and Chip Ganassi Racing, the Arrow McLaren Team Principal pushed back, clarifying that Dixon was the one who pursued them, not the other way around. 

“I don't think McLaren chased Dixon. I mean, I don't think, I'm sure we didn't. Dixon decided to leave Ganassi and chose us. It's a little bit different. I kind of feel like, makes your ego feel a little bit like, I don't think that is (the case). We're in this business to win races and both teams are elevated their game because of the rivalry. 

"I think nobody wanted, it didn't do anybody any good what happened in the past two years. If you look back, everybody lost, right? So, no, it was not at all because I got the phone call. It wasn't me chasing, although, I mean, do I talk to Dixon all the time? He’s my best friend. We hang around, but we always separate that quite well, so he chose to leave. Nobody actually went and tried to like pursue him.”

A big reason for the rocky relationship between Zak Brown and the Chip Ganassi Racing team is Alex Palou's contract saga. Palou was reportedly interested in an F1 seat with McLaren, and he had informed CGR of his intention to switch to Arrow in 2023. 

However, this turned into a messy affair, as McLaren went on to sign Oscar Piastri in 2023, but Palou still had hopes to join in 2024, reportedly based on a conversation he had with Brown. He continued at Chip Ganassi in 2023, and eventually decided to stay there, which resulted in Arrow McLaren suing him, and Palou ultimately ordered to pay $12 million in losses.

Why is Christian L out?

McLaren bring back Felix Rosenqvist and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who will attempt the Indy 500 again in 2027. But the decision to bring back Rosenqvist, along with removing Christian L has drawn a lot of skepticism online, given that the latter is currently third in the season rankings with two wins across 11 races so far. 

In the same interaction with Pockrass, Kanaan also clarified the reason behind the move, stating he needed to make a few tough decisions to align with the team’s direction going forward, along with an immediate need for results. He is also aware that letting Christian go is a gamble that might backfire on him. 

“Does Christian have Dixon's experience of what I need to bring to this team? The relentless, the championship mentality. None of my drivers have a championship. Teams that I'm going against have multiple guys that have multiple championships. And always it starts with the driver, how you're gonna push the team up, right? 

I think as much as we hang together, the culture, the mentality, you ended up adjusting and adapting to that. And I know what Dixon has, it's what I have, it's what Hunter-Reay has, so I have to build it. In the process, I have to gamble. Christian is a gamble. I might let him go, I will let him go. And if he lands in one of the two seats that are available, people are gonna look at me and actually it's like, ha, ha, ha. This is gonna be tough.“

He then also went on to say that despite their talent and capabilities, both Christian and Nolan Siegel ‘haven't set the world on fire’, and that the former isn’t exactly at a place to win the championship. 

Needless to say, we don’t expect a harmonious relationship between McLaren and the two departing drivers in the future. 

Read more at Motor Culture 

Written by

Aaradhya Singh

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason