IndyCar: Zak Brown rubs salt in the wound after James Hinchcliffe snub

Zak Brown stated that James Hinchcliffe was, in fact, set to drive for Arrow McLaren Racing SP in the 2020 IndyCar season, further rubbing salt in the wound.

On multiple occasions, James Hinchcliffe, who had a contract to return to Arrow McLaren Racing SP in the 2020 IndyCar season, was “confirmed” by the team for next year.

That all proved to be a lie, as the team confirmed earlier this week that 2018 and 2019 Indy Lights champions Patricio O’Ward and Oliver Askew are set to be their drivers in the 2020 season.

Hinchcliffe is still technically “under contract” with the team for next year, but not as a driver.

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One of the individuals who “confirmed” that the 32-year-old Canadian was set to return to the team next year was McLaren CEO Zak Brown, whose team formed a partnership with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in early August, leading to the inception of Arrow McLaren Racing SP and a switch from Honda engines to Chevrolet engines.

Even though Hinchcliffe has ties to Honda, he was willing to move forward with General Motors, and everybody indicated that this would be the case.

Now we know it isn’t, and now Brown has rubbed even more salt in the wound, confirming that Hinchcliffe was, in fact, “going to be in the car” next year, but that this is no longer the case even despite the fact that this was “confirmed” multiple times by multiple individuals within the organization, including Brown himself.

Here is what Brown had to say about his team’s decision, according to ESPN.

"“I am well aware of the lack of popularity of the decision, I totally get it. We commented he was going to be in the car in 2020 and at the time, that was true. In business and racing, as you all know, things change. When Pato O’Ward came on the market…we decided to take a long-range view on what was best for the team and to go with Pato and Oliver.”"

“We commented he was going to be in the car in 2020 and at the time, that was true.”

Yet here we still are in 2019, and it’s not true; a lot of good that does now,

Additionally, American motorsports magazine RACER reported from day one that Hinchcliffe was NOT a lock in the team’s driver lineup for next year. At this point, O’Ward was not, as Brown said, “on the market”.

So in essence, it was never true.

But I guess we’re just supposed to believe him now even after all the other misleading quotes that have come from the organization, starting with the day McLaren entered the frame.

Fortunately, Hinchcliffe has taken this snub with nothing but class, and he has already set his sights on landing another ride for the 2020 season. If there is one driver who can be counted on to bounce back from adversity, it’s Hinchcliffe, as he has repeatedly shown over the course of his career.

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James Hinchcliffe’s most two heavily rumored landing spots for the 2020 IndyCar season are Honda teams Dale Coyne Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. While both teams have confirmed interest in Hinchcliffe, it would likely take an expansion from two cars to three cars, which neither team are willing to commit to at this time.