IndyCar driver tells Penske to 'go f*** themselves' in unhinged rant

Nolan Siegel may have been "confirmed" as a part of Arrow McLaren's 2026 IndyCar driver lineup, despite having had a disastrous start to his first full season in the series after a lackluster second half of last year in the team's No. 6 Chevrolet, but given McLaren's history, there is speculation that his seat isn't safe, even for the end of 2025.

And given his own attitude this season, it's probably not far-fetched to suggest that the pressure is getting to the 20-year-old Palo Alto, California native's head.

Siegel entered IndyCar as a highly-touted prospect, with team prinicipal Tony Kanaan making the move to bring him in despite "confirmation" that Theo Pourchaire would close out the 2024 season for the team.

Siegel had gained even more respect for himself throughout the paddock with the way he conducted himself last May for Dale Coyne Racing, when he failed to qualify for the Indy 500 but went down swinging with a last-ditch qualifying effort that resulted in a crash.

Suffice it to say he has not handled himself nearly as well lately.

Ticked-off radio messages are nothing new in motorsport, and we have heard Siegel be over-the-top on a number of occasions this year.

His rant about Christian Rasmussen in Indy 500 practice comes to mind, and it's particularly notable because Rasmussen has been criticized for his driving by a number of drivers ahead of both of his first two Indy 500 attempts, yet Siegel's rant is the one that stands out the most.

Skip ahead to this past weekend's race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

Siegel made an insanely egregious blocking move on Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin on the back straightaway, as he moved multiple times in reaction to the No. 3 Chevrolet. Everybody watching knew a penalty was coming, yet when it did, he absolutely lost it over the radio.

Have a listen to the NSFW radio message below, which includes an absurd message to Penske telling them team to "go f*** themselves".

Siegel does have a right to be frustrated with Team Penske, having twice been rear-ended to bring an end to his race this year. But that has nothing to do with what happened here.

Will Power crashed into him on the opening lap of the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, and McLaughlin crashed into him on the streets of Detroit, Michigan a few weeks ago.

There was debate as to whether Siegel braked early in Detroit, giving McLaughlin minimal time to react, but team principal Tony Kanaan wasn't having it, leading to a social media spat between himself and McLaughlin that further escalated the tension between the two teams which has been evident specifically since last year's push-to-pass scandal.

But this, as IndyStar's Nathan Brown noted, is indeed over-the-top and completely uncalled for, especially as it pertains to the series officials who made the 100% right call. The reference to Indy NXT pertains to the penalties recently issued to Jack William Miller.

Let's not forget that McLaughlin was penalized in Detroit, and while he was allowed to keep racing, so was Siegel at Gateway.

The shot at Penske, although inappropriate in its own right, is not completely unexpected, however. It seems that regardless of what goes on within the series, there will always be that sense of "Penske favoritism" given the fact that Roger Penske owns the series, and this has come into play from an optics standpoint after both of the team's recent cheating scandals.

Kanaan's own view of Team Penske certainly doesn't seem to be a standalone view when it comes to Arrow McLaren, either. Pato O'Ward lit into them after this year's scandal at Indy, but even he at least kept an element of sportsmanship to it went he went on his rant. Siegel, not so much.

Given Siegel's lack of performance, which includes two top 10 finishes in 20 starts, the subject of him being a "pay driver" and his dad buying him his ride has been brought up in IndyCar circles on social media more than once. Whether it's a fair assessment or not, only Siegel, Kanaan, and CEO Zak Brown truly know, but he seems to still have full support from the team.

But this completely unnecessary and childish rant on Sunday is indeed befitting of someone whom you might consider a spoiled rich kid, not a driver there for his talent. Using past incidents for which other drivers were penalized to justify horrendous and unsafe driving, and then flipping out about the consequences of it in that manner, is simply uncalled for.

And as far as talent goes, that's without getting into the fact that O'Ward literally took a shot at his own teammate after the race for being "asleep" on a restart, which may or may not have cost him the win.

It certainly cost him the eventual lead, and Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood, who made the pass, ended up securing the victory, his third of the year and first ever on an oval.

McLaughlin and Siegel both responded to his comments with a post-race chat, and it seems that both sides are ready to move forward.

UPDATE: Siegel has now deleted his message, which initially stated "Hand up, not my best moment. Talked with Scott and we’re all good".

Here's what McLaughlin said beforehand:

All in all, it's yet another low point for Siegel's disappointing rookie season, and this one was all on him.