IndyCar: Does McLaren's promise to Robert Wickens still apply?

Robert Wickens ended up in IndyCar last year primarily because of his friend James Hinchcliffe. With Hinchcliffe out at Arrow McLaren Racing SP, does their promise still apply?

James Hinchcliffe was under contract with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for the 2020 IndyCar season before they partnered with McLaren, ended their contract with Honda a year early and switched to Chevrolet engines as Arrow McLaren Racing SP.

Technically, the 32-year-old Canadian is still under contract with the team, but not as a driver.

Confirming speculation from weeks prior, the team confirmed 2018 and 2019 Indy Lights champions Patricio O’Ward and Oliver Askew as the two drivers in their lineup for the 2020 season, and they left Hinchcliffe, who has served as a Honda spokesman for several years, free to pursue other options.

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One question that many fans still have is about Robert Wickens.

Wickens came to IndyCar in 2018 and signed with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports alongside Hinchcliffe, who had convinced his fellow Canadian to give America’s premier open-wheel racing series a try even after Wickens “ruled out” a future in the sport.

Wickens’s rookie season came to an abrupt end at Pocono Raceway when his #6 Honda was catapulted into the turn two catch fence, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

But the 30-year-old still has his heart set on returning to IndyCar.

Before the 2019 season, Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports promised that when he is able to return, there will be a car waiting for him.

So when McLaren emerged, the simple question was asked: would this still apply?

“Yes, definitely,” stated McLaren CEO Zak Brown.

But now Hinchcliffe, who himself was “confirmed” by team co-owner Sam Schmidt along with Brown and another unnamed McLaren representative for the 2020 season, may end up completely out of a ride next year.

So does this “promise” still apply?

“Yeah, I mean Robert, I mean I think Robert continues to inspire and motivate and just
amaze everybody on a daily basis,” stated Schmidt, who himself is a quadriplegic as a result of an IndyCar crash, in a media press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

“Because he’s continuing the program, he’s continuing to improve, he is a part of the team as a driver coaching consultant and will continue. And I think that’s one of the major assets we have that Oliver was talking about in that he will be there at a majority of the races next year assisting these young guys to get acclimated as quick as they can. So he’s part of the team, but also he’s got a major focus on his rehabilitation and he’s hell-bent on driving again and I wouldn’t bet against him.”

But just how much of this is to be taken at face value considering the fact that Schmidt, Brown and others stated on multiple occasions that Hinchcliffe would be back next year?

And how much does it matter now that Wickens’s friend, albeit still “under contract” with the team, is out of the picture?

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I don’t have an answer to that question, but it’s food for thought as Robert Wickens continues to grind his way through the recovery that he hopes will ultimately land him back in IndyCar, where he most definitely has unfinished business after what was truly a remarkable rookie year cut short.

Considering how many twists and turns this situation has taken already, I don’t think anybody does.

IndyCar: Does McLaren’s promise to Robert Wickens still apply?

By Asher Fair | Oct 31, 2019

Robert Wickens ended up in IndyCar last year primarily because of his friend James Hinchcliffe. With Hinchcliffe out at Arrow McLaren Racing SP, does their promise still apply?