IndyCar: Is James Hinchcliffe considering other options for 2020?

James Hinchcliffe’s Twitter post indicates that he will drive for Arrow McLaren Racing SP in the 2020 IndyCar season, but official confirmation has not been made.

After Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and McLaren announced their blockbuster partnership and alignment with Chevrolet for the 2020 IndyCar season to become Arrow McLaren Racing SP, James Hinchcliffe, who has driven for the former since the 2015 season, released a statement on Twitter.

Despite his deep ties to Honda, Hinchcliffe’s statement painted an optimistic picture regarding him continuing to drive for the team when they become a Chevrolet-powered operation next year.

Here is Hinchcliffe’s tweet.

pic.twitter.com/QILg7ngO4b
— James Hinchcliffe (@Hinchtown) August 9, 2019

Additionally, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports co-owner Sam Schmidt and McLaren CEO Zak Brown both made it clear that Hinchcliffe is slated to be part of the team’s future.

Here is what Schmidt stated, according to Motorsport.

"“As far as we’re concerned, we have another year on James’ contract and we intend on fulfilling that. Today’s announcement was obviously about McLaren, Chevrolet, Arrow and ourselves, and we wanted to get that out there for the sake of the commercial deals so we can start working on joint deals for next year. Then we figured we’d deal with driver announcements in the coming weeks.”"

Here is what Brown stated, according to ESPN.

"“Hinch is under contract and we think he’s an excellent racing driver who has won lots of races and he does have big ties to Honda. From our point of view, we are very happy to continue to have Hinch, and that’s kind of the state of play.”"

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But without an official driver confirmation yet, is it possible that Hinchcliffe is considering other options?

We know three things. (1) Hinchcliffe is under contract with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports through the 2020 season, (2) that contract was not voided when this partnership was announced and (3) Hinchcliffe does still have ties to Honda.

#3 is where this gets interesting, because while #1 and #2 make the situation seem cut and dry, especially given the statements made by Hinchcliffe, Schmidt and Brown, something has to give.

Hinchcliffe has not driven a Chevrolet-powered car in IndyCar since his second of three seasons driving for Andretti Autosport back in the 2013 season. In recent years, he has even appeared in various commercials for Honda.

Suffice it to say that it would not come as a surprise if Honda try to do everything they can to retain him before Arrow McLaren Racing SP officially confirm their driver lineup for next year.

Yes, Hinchcliffe is under contract, and based on the above statements, everybody appears set to continue that.

But it is worth noting that that “everybody” doesn’t include anybody from Honda.

Plus, not even two weeks ago, Schmidt himself stated that the team had one year left on their contract with Honda and that this would “alienate” them from a potential partnership with McLaren because of McLaren’s deteriorated relationship with the Japanese manufacturer.

So much for that.

If Hinchcliffe were to continue driving for Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing appear to be the top potential destination for him. They have been rumored to expand to three cars because of how close they are on funding, and the addition of Hinchcliffe via Honda should put them over the top from a financial standpoint.

If Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing opt to sign Santino Ferrucci, who has the option to return to Dale Coyne Racing but is reportedly weighing all of his options for next year, then the second seat at Dale Coyne Racing could also open up for Hinchcliffe.

A fifth Andretti Autosport car is always a possibility, but it appears as though Harding Steinbrenner Racing rookie Colton Herta would be in line to drive it if it officially opens up, perhaps with Harding Steinbrenner Racing co-owner George Michael Steinbrenner IV as a partner in the entry.

Considering his contract with Harding Steinbrenner Racing already binds him to Andretti Technologies, it seems highly unlikely that Harding Steinbrenner Racing would field any cars next year if Herta leaves the team, especially with Steinbrenner staying on board as a partner for his potential Andretti Autosport entry, but if they do, Hinchcliffe could land there as well.

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At this point, there is no doubt that Arrow McLaren Racing SP is James Hinchcliffe’s most likely landing spot for the 2020 IndyCar season. Nobody is devaluing the statements that were made following the announcement about this partnership. He clearly seems excited to continue driving for the team, even following their switch from Chevrolet to Honda, and both Sam Schmidt and Zak Brown are eager for him to drive one of their two cars for the bowtie manufacturer.

But Honda cannot be discounted until we know all of the facts, and as we have seen already throughout this situation, many facts remain undisclosed until the confirmations are made.