At one point during the 2024 IndyCar season, Arrow McLaren had made more driver changes in a 15-month stretch than Team Penske had made in the last 15 years.
The revolving door(s) at Zak Brown's IndyCar team just kept revolving, but the team entered the 2025 season looking like they had a solid three-car driver lineup to work with for the foreseeable future.
Pato O'Ward is regularly in the tier just below the true title contenders, and he won a career-high three times in 2024. Christian Lundgaard carried a faltering Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team for three years, and Nolan Siegel was extremely highly rated by newly appointed team principal Tony Kanaan, to the point where McLaren dropped Theo Pourchaire with 10 races to go last year, even after he had been signed for the rest of the season.
O'Ward is the veteran of the three, and he is just 25 years old.
O'Ward is still O'Ward, as we all expected. After dominating at Thermal Club but having to settle for second place, he is third in the standings, and he'd undoubtedly be in second had he not qualified at the back in the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg. He still managed to climb to 11th as the biggest mover in a race that ran caution-free after the opening lap incident.
And Lundgaard is doing exactly what you'd hope a young driver would be doing when he makes the move to a clearly superior team from a team that's struggled, something that isn't always the case. His team swap has already proven to be a lot more than hype, and his execution thus far has shown that he has a lot more than "on paper" upside.
The drivers of the No. 5 Chevrolet and No. 7 Chevrolet locked out the front row at Thermal Club and both finished on the podium, and both find themselves in the top four in the standings, notably ahead of the entire Team Penske trio of Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, and Will Power.
They are doing what they need to do to actually elevate McLaren into that top tier after years of being stuck in the "best of the rest" battle behind Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing, the two teams that have combined to win each of the 12 most recent IndyCar championships.
But Siegel is unfortunately struggling.
Granted, his opening lap crash in St. Petersburg was not his fault; Power drove into the back of him. But he was nowhere near the pace of teammates at Thermal Club, nearly finishing a lap down in a race that ran caution-free. He placed 19th.
Given McLaren's history with giving struggling drivers a relatively short leash, which, despite Brown's claim that it's Alex Palou decision to remain with Chip Ganassi Racing which has given them an "unfair" label in this respect, is absolutely true, you have to wonder just how long Siegel has before the team consider continuing their usual game of musical chairs.
I’m sorry but McLaren is wild for getting rid of Askew, FRO, and Rossi but being way to chill about Nolan running 23rd while his teammates run comfortably 1-2
— Kyle Cuthbertson (@RacingNationTV) March 23, 2025
Siegel recorded just one top 10 finish in his 10 starts for the team last year, and his pace deficit to his teammates at Thermal Club was alarming for a driver who, despite his youth, is quickly creeping up on a full year of experience.
You have to wonder just how long McLaren will indeed be "chill" about his performance, and though it's tough to put together a strong three-car lineup from top to bottom, Brown has made it clear that he wants this team to be not just a championship-contending team, but a championship-winning team.
Look no further than his decisions on the Formula 1 side, decisions which include their own form of driver replacement controversy, to illustrate that fact. Hate him all you want for his apparent lack of loyalty, but McLaren are now the reigning constructor champions and well on their way to potentially winning 20 or more Grands Prix in 2025 with a dominant car.
Anything less than that on the IndyCar side, and the suggestions of "not fixing what isn't broken" will undoubtedly fall on deaf ears. Because until they are the top dogs, they will still be viewed by the top brass as broken.
It's on Siegel now to fix it before it's too late, and nobody really knows what "too late" is anymore when it comes to the ever-revolving papaya door. Hopefully he is given proper time to develop, but if progress isn't evident, don't be surprised if the team revert to their old ways at some point down the road.