Arrow McLaren trying to shake INDYCAR underdog status, mimic F1 surge

THERMAL, Calif. — After sweeping the front row spots for the second INDYCAR race of the season, Arrow McLaren driver Christian Lundgaard quipped: “We’re just trying to copy what they do in Formula 1.”

People laughed. But, seriously, after what the team did at Thermal, it could be an actual conversation sooner than some would think, especially after last season.

The McLaren Formula 1 team opened with what could have been a historic day for McLaren by going one and two in China as Oscar Piastri won with Lando Norris finishing second.

Could Lundgaard or Pato O’Ward turn their front-row starting spots into a victory and complete the F1-INDYCAR sweep and even possibly go one and two? The last time McLaren achieved that feat came in May 1976 when Johnny Rutherford won the USAC champ car race at Trenton (N.J.) and James Hunt won the F1 race in Madrid.

The fact that McLaren had a late surge in 2024 that allowed the team to capture the F1 manufacturer’s title and then opened the F1 season with a couple of victories is not lost on the INDYCAR drivers.

“We’re aware, man,” said O’Ward, who won three INDYCAR races last year. “We want to be doing what F1 is currently doing. The fight here in INDYCAR is different. Definitely different.

“I think McLaren right now is leading the way in their situation, and we’re still chasing. We’re still chasing to be the best. … We’ll get there.”

O’Ward can say that with confidence. 

He led 51 of the 65 laps Sunday before Alex Palou, with another great car, landed on the right tire strategy of when to have the softer, faster tires and passed O’Ward with 11 laps remaining for the win.

Last year, when Thermal was an exhibition all-star race, O’Ward didn’t even make it to the main event at Thermal. This year, he challenged for the victory.

In 2024, O’Ward finished fifth in the standings. Alexander Rossi was 10th driving for McLaren and Lundgaard, who replaced Rossi, was 11th at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

“To be fair, this probably was one of the tracks where I personally felt like we really didn’t have a fighting chance,” O’Ward said. “We put two cars on the front row. … It just seems like every time someone is winning, it’s always Palou.

“He’s obviously figured it out. He’s got a great team behind him. We just need to keep pushing. There’s really not another way.”

The pushing in some ways will come from Lundgaard, who was the best qualifying and best finishing McLaren car in the opener a few weeks ago at St. Petersburg.

“If you told me six months ago that I was going to be the best qualifying McLaren car and the highest-finishing car, I would have been very happy,” Lundgaard said about the opening weekend.

“Seeing how we did it made me happier because we did it on outright pace.”

No one likes to see a win slip away, and McLaren chose the wrong strategy as far as when to put on a second set of softs. But it wasn’t as if Palou’s team knew they had the right strategy until they saw O’Ward put on the harder, more durable but slower, tires for the final run.

“Obviously, when you see two drivers from the same team up there fighting every single session, that means that they have a good car and they are closer to you,” Palou said. “Let’s say, like St. Pete for us, I think overall we had an amazing package and were probably superior to everybody else.

“Here I would say that McLaren got really close, especially with how much they struggled [here] last year.”

Palou also couldn’t avoid the obvious. While Palou has won three of the last four titles and opened this year with two victories, O’Ward has the biggest fan following.

“I think it’s good for the championship,” Palou said about the McLaren surge. “It’s good for the competition. It’s good for Pato’s fans, so they keep on coming to the races.

“It’s good for us, as well.”

It’s certainly good for new team principal Tony Kanaan, the popular former driver who now leads the organization’s day-to-day INDYCAR program.

“Obviously, it was disappointing to not win,” Kanaan said. “But a year ago, this was one of the tracks that we struggled the most at. So for us to come in here this year and dominate until the last pit sequence, I’ll take that any day.”

McLaren rookie Nolan Siegel struggled in 16th but should be able to lean on his teammates  — a group that will include NASCAR’s Kyle Larson for the Indy 500. Larson won the NASCAR Cup race Sunday at Homestead.

This is an organization that has 16 victories over the last five seasons. But to see them challenging week in and week out would be a major step.

“We need team cars to be at the front,” O’Ward said. “We can’t just have one that’s fighting up there. All three Penskes are always fighting at the front. All four Ganassis are always at the front. I know there’s only right now two Ganassis that are usually at the front, but the [alliance cars at] Shanks count.

“It’s what we need in INDYCAR. … We’re pushing forward. We want to beat the big guys. We’re still the underdogs.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.