In a perfect world, Meyer Shank Racing would be moving into the 2027 NTT IndyCar Series season with the same lineup they've had since the start of the 2025 season, including a rising star in Marcus Armstrong and, of course, reigning Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist.
But for the first time since Takuma Sato left Andretti Autosport for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing after the 2017 season, the reigning Indy 500 winner will not be back with the same team in an attempt to defend his title.
Exactly one month after winning the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, Rosenqvist's impending departure was confirmed by the team, and he is now set to make his way to Arrow McLaren, along with Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon, to join Pato O'Ward, with Christian Lundgaard expected to replace Dixon and Nolan Siegel expected to be on the hunt for new opportunities, in IndyCar or elsewhere.
Rosenqvist fully rejuvenated his career with Meyer Shank Racing, after his first three-year stint with Arrow McLaren left a lot to be desired, and he helped to rejuvenate an organization that had an absolutely dismal 2023 season, the year before he arrived. It was a perfect pairing at the perfect time.
But after three years, and just months after he was believed to be on the "hot seat", he decided to move on, and he did it on his own terms. And with that, Meyer Shank Racing surprisingly found themselves having one of the top seats in silly season to fill.
Who will replace Felix Rosenqvist?
Sure, Armstrong is technically set to replace Rosenqvist by moving from the No. 66 Honda to the No. 66 Honda. But Armstrong isn't driving both cars, so in terms of the team's driver lineup, there's still a vacancy to fill due to the Indy 500 champion's decision to depart.
And while the team have certainly earned the right to do their due diligence before making a decision, there would be no better driver to fill that seat than Caio Collet.
While 23rd in points in a 25-car series doesn't necessarily scream high upside, this is one instance where we need to be a little bit more careful than going full-on stat merchant to describe the Brazilian rookie's season.
His driving style has been described as similar to that of four-time series champion Alex Palou, and while we fully understand that certain comparisons do tend to be overblown when it comes to rising motorsport stars across any series, the A.J. Foyt Enterprises driver has consistently shown why he's deserving of the hype.
He advanced to the second round of qualifying at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, and he did so for the Indy 500 as well, qualifying 10th before being sent to the rear for a technical infraction.
The driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet was a legitimate podium contender at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway after starting near the back, and he even led some laps, just as he did from the back at Indy. But he was knocked out late with a mechanical failure, putting an end to what had been a career performance just two weeks after suffering a fractured rib in his late Indy 500 wreck.
He then qualified a career-high eighth at Road America and followed that up with arguably his strongest overall weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, qualifying and finishing a career-high 11th while veteran teammate Santino Ferrucci started 21st and finished 19th. It's the fourth consecutive race weekend in which he's beaten Ferrucci in qualifying, the race, or both.
There's no doubt that he needs to be more consistent about putting full weekends together. But there's also little doubt that he can really reach his ceiling where he's at now. And even where he's at now, he's just a stone's throw away from leading the Rookie of the Year battle over Dennis Hauger, the only driver who finished ahead of him in the 2025 Indy NXT standings.
Meyer Shank Racing is simply not the same team as they were even two years ago, right after Rosenqvist arrived. Their 2025 season saw both drivers finish ahead of the entire Team Penske trio in the standings, and the ongoing technical alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing certainly seems to be benefitting both teams.
And no team has won more Indy 500s than Meyer Shank Racing this decade.
Giving Collet the opportunity to learn from fellow Brazilian Helio Castroneves, who is now co-owner of the team with which he won his record-tying fourth Indy 500 in 2021, could be the very move that keeps up the momentum that this team has had in recent years, even after letting Rosenqvist get away.
As far as the Indy 500 goes, let's not forget that it was actually Armstrong, not David Malukas, who was the leader coming to the white flag. So the success was not just limited to Rosenqvist. Couple that with the sheer speed Collet showed in his first Indy 500 appearance, and it could be another perfect pairing at the perfect time.
Just like it was, for instance, with Alex Palou at Chip Ganassi Racing, after his own impressive yet under-the-radar debut with Dale Coyne Racing as a rookie in 2020.
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