Arrow McLaren extended the last rotation of drivers to pilot the No. 6 Chevrolet entry on Tuesday, signing Siegel to a multi-year contract that begins this weekend at Laguna Seca.
In turn, the team’s move pushed out Pourchaire, who was originally brought in to replace an injured David Malukas but impressed enough after two rounds that Arrow Mclaren named him the primary driver for the rest of the season (with the exception of the Indianapolis 500).
In a call with select media on Tuesday afternoon, Arrow McLaren team principal Gavin Ward and sporting director Tony Kanaan stated that the decision to bench Pourchaire was not based on any wrongdoing, but rather on retaining Siegel, a highly sought-after 19-year-old prospect in the IndyCar paddock who recently won an LMP2 race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“Obviously, we had announced at Theo for the remainder of the year and at the time, that was with the options available,” stated Ward.
“With Nolan being a hot possibility, one of the brightest prospects on the horizon for IndyCar and the North American racing scene, I’d be lying if I said we hadn’t looked at him for a while. At the time we put Theo in the car, Nolan was committed to his Indy NXT season, so with the scheduling conflicts and his limited programme with Coyne, a full season did not appear to be in the cards.
“The changes, as well as his decision to break away from the NXT season at Road America, accelerated this process. And while we were looking at a 2025 commitment, it became clear that the logical thing to do, while not the easiest decision — easy in logic, I’d say, maybe not the easiest emotionally — was to move quickly and get him in the car as soon as possible so we could hit the ground running the following year.”
Pourchaire, the reigning Formula 2 champion and Sauber’s Formula 1 reserve driver, made an impressive start in IndyCar at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, finishing 11th. Contact with teammate Pato O’Ward on the final lap ruined a good run at Barber Motorsports, but there was enough there for Arrow Mclaren to drop Malukas, ending a contract inked in September, and replace him with the 20-year-old Frenchman.
Pourchaire, for his part, had just begun to find his stride after scoring his first career top ten on the challenging streets of downtown Detroit, followed by a 13th at Road America before being let go after only three races since being named the team’s pick for the rest of 2024.
Despite only competing in five of the seven points-paying races and missing the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and the Indy 500, Pourchaire climbed to 21st in the championship standings, just 25 points behind leading Rookie of the Year candidate Linus Lundqvist in 18th.
“He didn’t do anything wrong” Kaanan called Pourchaire to advise him of the team’s decision to switch.
“He didn’t do anything wrong,” said Kanaan, the winner of the 2013 Indianapolis 500 and the 2004 IndyCar championship.
“It was only a scenario. It was a decision we had to make. It was not personal. This was not due to his performance. He did everything he could. He was not pleased, but he understood.”
However, this implies that O’Ward and Siegel are two of the three definite seats on the 2025 roster, with Alexander Rossi’s future in the No. 7 entry still unknown.
When questioned by Motorsport.com if his decision to leave Pourchaire meant he would not be considered to return next year for the only available seat, Ward stated his position.
“No, I don’t think that’s the case,” Ward replied.
“What I will say is that we will not stand in the way of any opportunities that he may have. In fact, I would love to see him continue his racing season this year or his IndyCar career next year and beyond, even if it isn’t with us.
“We still have one more seat to finalise and I won’t really get into too much speculation about who will be driving the No. 7 car next year as that’s ongoing and we’ll confirm that in due course.”
Kanaan has also stated that he will continue to help Pourchaire in finding a way to stay in IndyCar, even if it is not with Arrow McLaren.
“I said, ‘Look, if I can help you in any way, shape or form, I’m here,'” Kanaan recalled.
“And I said, ‘If your intentions are still to be an IndyCar, if you need any introductions or anything.'” One thing I told him was that I always tried to see the bright side of things. I remarked, “Look, three months ago, you were at home.”
“They (Sauber) simply sent you there since you were doing nothing. You came here, you demonstrated (good), and that probably helped. Obviously, the situation is not great.’ But that was it. “There wasn’t much to say, to be honest.”
Six drivers in one year.
Siegel becomes the sixth driver to drive or be affiliated to Arrow McLaren’s No. 6 car in just 11 months.
Felix Rosenqvist piloted the ride last year, with Alex Palou expected to take over this year, but the two-time IndyCar champion’s decision to stay with Chip Ganassi Racing led Arrow McLaren to sign Malukas, who then suffered a mountain biking accident and never turned a lap on a race weekend for the team. Callum Ilott, like Pourchaire, was brought in as a replacement for Malukas.
Given the absence of continuity, Motorsport.com inquired about how the driver movement has impacted general team morale.
“Yeah, I think what you hit on is kind of in a funny way, although this is yet another change, the real goal with this change is seeking stability that the team needs,” Ward responded.
“Being able to make a multi-year commitment now would hopefully put an end to the merry-go-round. To be honest, it’s the first opportunity we’ve had in a long time to be proactive rather than reactive in our approach to filling the seat in the No. 6 vehicle. This is not a rash reaction. This is a long-term strategic initiative. Once we’d settled on the commitment for 2025, it seemed logical to move forward and get Nolan in the car right now to be best prepared for that point.
“But it’s not simple to go through the adjustments we’ve had. The disruption caused by a single mountain bike accident has been rather remarkable. I’m looking forward to getting past that and focusing on just developing a better race team and putting up a development plan that will set a major talent like Nolan up for success.”
Kanaan then shared his thoughts on the matter.
“It started back last year with that driver (Palou) that decided not to come over and breach his contract,” Kanaan stated.
“Then we opted on continuity, and it’s been quite a long six months for me. I didn’t sign up to have to choose between four drivers. And then, because we needed to make a speedy decision, many of the options had already been scheduled. I basically reminded the guys out there, “You change race cars all the time.” You come in and make a change. We don’t want to do that with drivers, but we are here. I am in this to win races. That’s all I care about. And I believe we will finally look for continuity. There’s never a good time.
“Everybody will say, ‘Oh, this is horrible time.’ What is the best time to do what we did? I do not know when. I believe that today, some individuals agree, while others disagree. We will take the heat. We do not take the heat. However, I believe that is the correct decision. I believe I’m making the proper decision with the team. I weigh a lot since that’s my job. I’m delighted my employer (McLaren CEO Zak Brown) trusts me on this. We just have to go forward.
“We’re here to win races, and while it’s a little disruptive, racing is disruptive in general. So it’s just one more day of racing until we move on. Nobody will remember when we win a race.”
