The best-performing driver on a racing team, in theory, should have job security with the team for which they are racing. Regarding Christian Lundgaard, that wasn’t enough for Arrow McLaren, which announced that he will not be part of the team’s 2027 lineup in the NTT IndyCar Series.
It’s unknown when Lundgaard was told of his fate. What is known is that in a race weekend full of distractions outside of the car, Lundgaard had perhaps the best weekend he could have had behind the wheel, except for where he finished at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Lundgaard snatched the pole from his teammate Pato O’Ward at the last minute of qualifying for the Honda Indy 200. Two Arrow McLaren drivers on the front row, one with a guaranteed seat, one seemingly (now definitely) on the way out the door despite the driver safely under contract having not had a podium finish so far in 2026.
After leading at the start of the race, Lundgaard led 41 of the race’s 90 laps. It was a mistake at the Keyhole (turn 2) that opened Lundgaard up to attack from his teammate, and O’Ward didn’t need a second invitation to grab the lead on the race’s 42nd lap.
Other than the race’s final pit stop sequence, O’Ward would lead 45 of the race’s remaining laps to score his first win of the 2026 IndyCar season, Lundgaard trailing behind by just under a second.
Despite knowing he wouldn’t be back, Lundgaard wanted to prove a point that he shouldn’t be replaced on the team.
And he’s right.
Since joining Arrow McLaren ahead of the 2025 IndyCar season, Lundgaard has been one of the better-performing drivers on road and street courses across the whole championship. We’ll get to ovals later on.
As Alex Palou torched the field during his 2025 championship run, Lundgaard scored six podium finishes, split up evenly between second and third place efforts. The Dane was the highest-placed driver in last year’s points without a victory, and that’s through no fault of his own.
At Barber, Palou waxed the field to win by 16 seconds. At Laguna Seca, the gap was closer, but Palou has made that track his personal playground for years. At Portland, Lundgaard was stuck in a dirty air train behind race winner Will Power with nowhere to really go.
Moving to 2026, Lundgaard had perhaps the car to beat at Barber, but a slow final pit stop robbed the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of his first win of the season.
Two races later, Lundgaard hunted down David Malukas and snatched the lead from the Chicago native to score his first win in Arrow McLaren colors. In the post-race press conference, Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan joined Lundgaard at the podium and briefly spoke about re-signing Lundgaard.
“I said that I hate talking about contracts because I was on the other side for 25 years,” Kanaan said. “I told Christian and his following and Nolan is on the way, ‘If you guys keep winning, I don’t need to make a decision, and nobody needs to make a decision.’ I think we’re all on the same page on that.”
Remember that. It becomes important later.
Moving forward to Road America, Lundgaard had front-wing damage and a flat tire on the first lap after contact with Scott Dixon. By the end of the 55-lap race, clever strategy and Marcus Armstrong‘s engine failure helped propel Lundgaard into victory lane after running in last place for several laps at the beginning of the race.
To put it into perspective, Palou was leading that race early and was within a handful of seconds of lapping Lundgaard, ending his chances of victory.
For those keeping score at that point of the season, Lundgaard had two wins and two other podiums while no other Arrow McLaren driver had been on the podium.
Silly season then starts to heat up. Felix Rosenqvist and Meyer Shank Racing mutually confirm their separation. The week before Mid-Ohio, Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing do the same thing, and speculation runs rampant.
Both drivers are immediately linked to Arrow McLaren, meaning that Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel are both out of a ride if that’s the case (remember, this is pre-Mid-Ohio we’re talking about).
I can understand Siegel not being with the team in 2027. As much as Siegel has improved in the last couple of races, the body of work since joining the team midway through 2024 has left a lot to be desired.
Don’t get me wrong, Siegel can wheel a racecar, but going from a few outings with small teams immediately to an IndyCar powerhouse leaves little room for Siegel to grow as a driver and as a human being.
But Lundgaard? That made no sense going into the race weekend after securing a win that could become a signature win in a long career.
But then Lundgaard puts the car on pole, leads 41 laps and finishes second, only because of a small mistake. And now he’s out for this year’s Indianapolis 500 winner and the modern-day IndyCar GOAT who has maybe a couple of competitive years left in him.
One shouldn’t think that Lundgaard is worried about his future, though. His plans were very clear after Mid-Ohio was over.
“I’m going to go take a shower, I’m going to sleep and then see what comes,” Lundgaard said.
Stone. Cold. Killer.
Christopher DeHarde has covered IndyCar racing and the Road to Indy for various outlets since 2014. In addition to open wheel racing, DeHarde has also covered IMSA and various short track racing events around Indiana. Originally from New Orleans, DeHarde moved to the Indianapolis area in 2017 to further pursue a career as a motorsports writer.
Very poor headline!!!!!!