Arrow McLaren Racing is making waves in the IndyCar series, with the team rapidly growing to three full-time cars and building a chemistry within the organization envied across the paddock. The team’s success comes from the atmosphere built within the team, with teammates Felix Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward having the most fun headed into the 107th running of the Indy 500. The team has put all four of its cars in the top-12 for Sunday’s race, with Rosenqvist at third being the highest qualifying McLaren driver. The McLaren effort that year was a laughingstock, but they have made roster changes, pumped some money into the program, and feverishly worked at what they do best: selling sponsorship. O’Ward, who has three runner-up finishes this season, has been their championship contender each year, and the team goes into Sunday’s race with four legitimate chances to win the Indy 500.
Gavin Ward, a Canadian engineer who launched his career first as an intern with Red Bull Racing in Formula One before spending nine years with the team in various roles, made the switch to IndyCar in 2018. He landed at Team Penske and was Josef Newgarden’s engineer but decided at the start of 2022 to move to McLaren. Ward had a no-compete period that sidelined him until July of last season, and when team president Taylor Kiel left at the end of the year to join Chip Ganassi Racing, Brown decided to put Ward in charge. What he and the drivers discovered is that Ward places a huge emphasis on the human element of racing; if an employee isn’t flourishing in their role at McLaren, Ward doesn’t believe in firing them. Instead, he tries to find the best fit for them inside the organization.
The version of Ward who arrived at McLaren has matured through years of working with the top teams in motorsports. His drivers praise how well he treats the employees and how aligned everyone is inside the organization, but Ward said it took him most of his 38 years to learn how to manage this way. McLaren does not yet have any wins this season to show for its rapid rise, but the entire paddock knows they’ve arrived. Remember, McLaren showed up in 2019 as a one-off team that was humiliated when it failed to qualify Fernando Alonso for the Indy 500.
Ryan Hunter-Reay, a former Andretti Autosport driver back at Indy for a one-off with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, has noticed the rapid expansion of the McLaren organization based on all the papaya he’s seen around the speedway. But he thinks what the team has done since missing the race with Alonso four years ago is impressive. “I’m not sure if it’s that they are all dressed in orange but, man, they have a lot of people here. It’s like Minions running around,” Hunter-Reay said. “They’re doing things that upset the status quo and that’s a good thing.”
Teammates Tony Kanaan, left, of Brazil, talks with Felix Rosenqvist, of Sweden, during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500. (AP)
With Brown based in Europe overseeing the day-to-day operations of McLaren’s Formula One team, the leader of the IndyCar team is a newcomer with less than a year on the job. Ward had a no-compete period that sidelined him until July of last season, and when team president Taylor Kiel left at the end of the year to join Chip Ganassi Racing, Brown decided to put Ward in charge. What he and the drivers discovered is that Ward places a huge emphasis on the human element of racing; if an employee isn’t flourishing in their role at McLaren, Ward doesn’t believe in firing them. Instead, he tries to find the best fit for them inside the organization.
The on-track success comes from the atmosphere built within the team. O’Ward starts fifth on Sunday, 2015 winner and team newcomer Alexander Rossi will start seventh, and Kanaan, the 2013 Indy 500 winner, will start ninth. “When you’re around a group bringing the best out of each other, (success) becomes a given,” Rosenqvist said. “When I came here I was closed as a shell. The team has really opened me up and it’s been a blast.”
Simply put, the McLaren drivers are having the most fun headed into the 107th running of the Indy 500 and put all four of its cars in the top-12 for Sunday’s race. Rosenqvist at third was the highest qualifying McLaren driver; the Swede finished fourth in last year’s race, two spots behind teammate O’Ward. The McLaren effort that year was a laughingstock — so bad that many worried Brown would forego plans to return as a full-time IndyCar team. But he did bring the brand back in 2020, initially as a marketing partner with the existing Sam Schmidt Peterson team.
He made roster changes — dumping popular veteran James Hinchcliffe and reigning Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson — pumped some money into the program and feverishly worked at what he does best: selling sponsorship. O’Ward, who has three runner-up finishes this season, has been their championship contender each year and the team goes into Sunday’s race with four legitimate chances to win the Indy 500.
