IndyCar: Who is on the hot seat at McLaren?

With Alex Palou poised to join McLaren for the 2024 season, which of the team’s IndyCar drivers could find himself on the hot seat?

Arrow McLaren SP found themselves at the center of IndyCar silly season this past year after they announced that they had signed Alex Palou for 2023, just hours after Chip Ganassi Racing had announced that they had reached an agreement to keep Palou behind the wheel of the #10 Honda for another year.

Palou himself seemed set on joining McLaren, but a legal battle ensued. Long story short, the 25-year-old Spaniard ultimately agreed to come back to Chip Ganassi Racing for another season.

Chip Ganassi Racing did allow Palou to pursue testing with McLaren on the Formula 1 side, as long as it didn’t cause any sort of conflict with his IndyCar commitment.

Arrow McLaren SP ended up sticking with Felix Rosenqvist, who would have moved elsewhere had Palou joined the team for 2023. They had already announced that Pato O’Ward would be back, and they had also signed Alexander Rossi from Andretti Autosport (without conflict).

With the legal matters all seemingly resolved and all parties content for the time being, all indications are that Palou will indeed make the full move to McLaren in 2024.

If that happens, who is on the hot seat?

Lando Norris and soon-to-be rookie Oscar Piastri are both secure on the Formula 1 side, so it would have to be an IndyCar seat for Palou, but that isn’t much of a surprise.

O’Ward is obviously secure after signing a multi-year extension toward the start of the 2022 season, and Rossi also signed a multi-year deal when he committed to the team last spring.

So is Rosenqvist effectively just keeping Palou’s seat warm for 2023? If the team remain at three cars, that is certainly how it would appear.

However, the 31-year-old Swede had a bit of a resurgence in 2022, finishing in eighth place in the championship standings, just one spot behind O’Ward, after a disappointing 21st place finish in his first season with the team in 2021. What if he performs just as well in 2023?

Ironically, when Rosenqvist joined the team in 2021, it was Palou who replaced him at Chip Ganassi Racing. Could Palou be in line to replace him again?

There is always the possibility that the team expand to four cars, even though the 2023 season is only set to be their first season with three. They have already announced a fourth car for the 2023 Indy 500, with Tony Kanaan set to join the organization — and from Chip Ganassi Racing, no less. Could that car become a full-time entry in 2024 when Palou presumably arrives?