McLaren’s full-time return to IndyCar competition next season is raising questions about where James Hinchcliffe will drive next season.
McLaren will partner with existing team Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2020. The new two-car team will be renamed Arrow McLaren Racing SP, rely on Arrow SPM’s current infrastructure and switch from Honda to Chevrolet.
The team currently fields cars for Hinchcliffe and Marcus Ericsson, but Hinchcliffe is a longtime Honda ambassador and star of ads for the automaker in North America.
All seven of Schmidt’s IndyCar victories were powered by Honda, which helped the team win two Indianapolis 500 poles.
Honda Performance Development said in a statement Friday « although we regret that this partnership will be coming to an end … HPD has the utmost confidence in the strength and commitment of its remaining partner teams. »
Arrow Electronics will remain the team’s title partner, and team co-founders Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson will continue in their current leadership roles. Gil de Ferran, the sporting director for McLaren Racing, will lead the IndyCar effort for McLaren independently from the Formula One effort.
« I’m extremely proud of the team that Ric and I have built and that a legendary brand like McLaren Racing has decided to partner with us, » Schmidt said. « Arrow is a tremendous partner which has been integral to our growth as a team since 2015 and to the creation of this new partnership. The combined technical resources and commercial opportunities both McLaren and Arrow bring to the table provide a winning combination. »
McLaren, which will be responsible for technical expertise, commercial experience and marketing on the new team, is coming off a spectacular embarrassment in which it failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in May with celebrated two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso.
Alonso does not appear to be interested in a full-time IndyCar ride in 2020, but Brown has indicated the new team will field a third car for the Indianapolis 500. Alonso would likely have an option to drive that entry.
« IndyCar has been part of McLaren since our early years of racing, and the series today provides not only a commercial platform to continue to grow our brand in North America but competition with some of the best teams in international motorsport, » said Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing. « We come to IndyCar in full respect of the sport, our competitors, the fans and the task ahead.
« At our core, we at McLaren are racers, and where there’s competition that puts us to the test, we will race. »
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.espn.com/racing/story/_/id/27354401/hinchcliffe-limbo-arrow-move-chevrolet
