Arrow McLaren made one more driver change Tuesday when it signed 19-year-old Nolan Siegel to drive the rest of the IndyCar season.
He would be the third driver to race the No. 6 this 12 months.
Siegel will change F2 champion Théo Pourchaire starting this weekend at Laguna Seca in California. Siegel would be the youngest driver on the grid. He was born one month after Chip Ganassi Racing rookie Kyffin Simpson.
“I am wanting ahead to leaping proper in with the Arrow McLaren crew this week and confirming my place within the IndyCar Sequence in papaya transferring ahead,” Siegel stated. “That is an surprising leap, however I am thrilled to be on this place.”
Siegel was a part of the LMP2 class-winning crew Sunday on the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a automotive co-owned by McLaren CEO Zak Brown. The crew already had its eye on the younger Californian, who had been working within the Indy NXT feeder sequence with occasional IndyCar begins.
Arrow McLaren crew principal Gavin Ward known as Siegel “one of many hottest prospects on the upcoming aspect for IndyCar and the North American racing scene.”
Siegel had hoped to stay eligible for IndyCar rookie of the 12 months as early as subsequent season, however he was an emergency alternative for Agustin Canapino two weeks in the past at Street America. Siegel then determined to skip the Indy NXT race, which took him out of rivalry for that championship this season.
“I would be mendacity if I stated we’ve not been taking a look at him for some time,” Ward stated. “… Street America introduced this ahead in a rush.
“We have been in search of a 2025 dedication. It grew to become fairly clear that the logical factor to do, though perhaps not the simplest resolution, was to fast-forward and get him the automotive as quickly as doable. We will hit subsequent 12 months, hit the bottom working.”
As soon as Siegel was out of Indy NXT championship rivalry, McLaren sporting director Tony Kanaan labored intently with Siegel on qualifying weekend for the Indianapolis 500, when two crashes stored Siegel out of the 33-car area.
It was on bump day that Kanaan grew to become satisfied the younger driver is one in every of IndyCar’s future stars.
“I wasn’t that mature once I was 19,” Kanaan stated.