IndyCar: 5 possible Arrow McLaren SP drivers for 2023

Arrow McLaren SP signed Alexander Rossi for the 2023 IndyCar season, but they still have a seat to fill. Who will end up getting it?

At long last, the “worst kept secret” of the 2022 IndyCar silly season was confirmed at the beginning of last month when Arrow McLaren SP confirmed the addition of current Andretti Autosport driver Alexander Rossi for 2023.

The move was announced just one week after it was confirmed that Pato O’Ward is set to return to the team on a multi-year contract extension, another silly season move that had been widely anticipated.

But it wasn’t confirmed which seat Rossi is taking next year, and Arrow McLaren SP still have a seat to fill, as Felix Rosenqvist’s future with the team is still up in the air.

So who will be Arrow McLaren SP’s third driver for 2023? Here are five options.

Possible Arrow McLaren SP drivers: No. 1 – Felix Rosenqvist

As the incumbent driver of the #7 Chevrolet, Felix Rosenqvist has to be considered among those in contention to become the third driver to sign a deal with Arrow McLaren SP for 2023.

Rosenqvist endured a season of struggle in his first year with the team following his departure from Chip Ganassi Racing last year, and the 2022 season started out in similar fashion.

Since then, he has seen a significant improvement in form, finishing in sixth place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course before finishing in fourth in the Indy 500. He then climbed 15 spots to secure another top 10 in the final race on Belle Isle, the site of his nasty 2021 wreck and injury, and finished in sixth at Road America. He had a chance for another solid result at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course before a mechanical issue.

Is it too little, too late for the 30-year-old Swede, or has he done enough — or can he still do enough — to earn a third year with the team? He is already signed by McLaren, but whether or not it’s for the IndyCar team remains to be seen.

Possible Arrow McLaren SP drivers: No. 2 – Rinus VeeKay

Rinus VeeKay has been considered arguably the top pending free agent on the market for 2023 since even before the 2022 IndyCar season began, and despite a few notable mistakes during his third season driving the #21 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, that hasn’t changed.

VeeKay is just 21 years old and has shown incredible potential in America’s premier open-wheel racing series since enduring a very rocky start in his rookie 2020 campaign.

Following his maiden series win the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in May 2021, he was a serious contender for a top five finish in the championship standings. Unfortunately, while he was only officially sidelined for one race last season, his performance took a massive tumble following his collarbone injury, and so did his position in points.

But following a much-needed offseason, he has regained that speed and demonstrated his incredible potential and upside again in 2022.

A move to Arrow McLaren SP would probably be a slight upgrade from Ed Carpenter Racing as a whole, and it would keep him with Chevrolet and give the team a powerful trio for the next several years as they continue to aim to solidify themselves among the sport’s top organizations.

Possible Arrow McLaren SP drivers: No. 3 – Alex Palou

If Tony Kanaan is to be believed, Arrow McLaren SP won’t be bringing back Felix Rosenqvist for a fourth season, and they won’t be signing Rinus VeeKay to replace him.

Kanaan tweeted that “people will fall off their chairs” when they know who Arrow McLaren SP’s third driver will be for the 2023 season.

With Kanaan being a Chip Ganassi Racing driver who is seeking to return for another shot in the Indy 500 next year, one would assume he is aware of some of the goings-on behind the scenes within the organization.

Could that mean that reigning series champion Alex Palou, who was again an Indy 500 contender and has again established himself as a championship contender, makes the shocking move to leave Chip Ganassi Racing and join Arrow McLaren SP after just two seasons?

Notably, Chip Ganassi Racing drivers have a history of not saying much about their contracts, so would Kanaan really post something like this amid speculation of a Palou move to Arrow McLaren SP?

Palou himself has stated that he hasn’t been in talks with other teams for 2023, and the oft-mentioned allure of Formula 1 which a move to a McLaren organization could present doesn’t seem to appeal to him like it would for some.

But Palou has not signed a deal with Chip Ganassi’s team since joining last year, so keep your eye on him.

Possible Arrow McLaren SP drivers: No. 4 – Daniel Ricciardo

If people are really going to fall off their chairs, Daniel Ricciardo being confirmed as the third driver at Arrow McLaren SP for the 2023 IndyCar season needs to be considered a serious option.

The list of reasons for the team — and Ricciardo — to make this move is endless. Ricciardo is in his second season competing for McLaren in Formula 1, and he is under contract worth the organization through the 2023 season.

But an overall lack of performance, save for his Monza win last year when he delivered the Woking-based team their first win since 2012 and led their first 1-2 finish since 2010, has led many to speculate that the two parties will cut ties after the 2022 season.

There are ways in which Ricciardo’s Formula 1 deal with McLaren can be ended early, though those “mechanisms” aren’t 100% clear.

A move to the IndyCar team would allow him to remain with the organization while trying to rejuvenate his racing career, and it would allow McLaren to pursue a new Formula 1 teammate for Lando Norris who could also extract the most out of his car on a regular basis.

And yes, Ricciardo moving from Formula 1 to IndyCar with Arrow McLaren SP would indeed have people falling off of their chairs.

Possible Arrow McLaren SP drivers: No. 5 – Scott Dixon

In terms of possibilities to make Tony Kanaan’s tweet about people falling off their chairs really come to fruition, Scott Dixon leaving Chip Ganassi Racing after two decades and joining Arrow McLaren SP has to be at the top — by far.

Back in 2018, Dixon confirmed that he had been approached by McLaren about the possibility of joining the team, which were not yet competing in IndyCar He ended up re-signing with Chip Ganassi Racing, keeping him behind the wheel of the #9 Honda on another multi-year deal.

But the six-time series champion hasn’t signed anything since, and while Chip Ganassi Racing drivers aren’t supposed to discuss their contract details, Dixon and Kanaan are

And it appears that Arrow McLaren SP have approached Dixon again, this time with the promise of an ownership stake in the team that would keep in involved in IndyCar for years to come after he stops competing.

Dixon has since denied the talks, but the possibility is intriguing — even if not for 2023.

And if leaving a team after two decades and six championships to finish off a career elsewhere — perhaps with another championship — sounds familiar, it’s because it is.

Is Scott Dixon setting up to pull a Tom Brady?

There have been quite a few instances of athletes changing teams, not just in racing, in recent seasons that nobody would have ever thought possible. Could the most absurd move of all take place in IndyCar?

Nobody can truly envision Dixon leaving Chip Ganassi Racing and race engineer Mike Hull and finishing his career elsewhere.

But how much longer is Hull, who has been with Chip Ganassi’s team for three decades, going to keep doing what he’s doing? It may be worth mentioning that Arrow McLaren SP president Taylor Kiel is Hull’s stepson.

If Dixon is to end his career elsewhere, Arrow McLaren SP is the ideal spot, and they could very well serve as the “Tampa Bay Buccaneers” of IndyCar where Dixon could win a seventh title.

Who will Arrow McLaren SP sign to drive their third car for the 2023 IndyCar season? Will it be one of these five drivers, or will they look elsewhere?