Any hopes McLaren SP had of Nico Hulkenberg racing for them in the IndyCar Series have seemingly been put to bed.
Hulkenberg described the turbocharged V6-powered car as “steering monsters” after a recent test with the squad at Barber Motorsports Park in which he completed 108 laps.
McLaren has indicated plans to run a third entry in the back end of the 2022 IndyCar Series and full-time in 2023, although Hulkenberg appears to have ruled himself out.
“Quick update regarding IndyCar,” Hulkenberg wrote on Twitter.
“It was exciting to test an IndyCar two weeks ago and I am grateful to Arrow McLaren SP for this opportunity.
“However, for personal reasons, I decided not to go ahead with it. [I’ll] keep you posted on my future plans.”
After departing Renault at the end of 2019, Hulkenberg was a fill-in at Racing Point in 2020 at the two Silverstone events and Nurburgring.
As for possible alternatives to Hulkenberg to fill the third McLaren SP seat, it has been reported that ex-McLaren Formula 1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne will test sometime during the off-season.
The Belgian, a Formula 2 title winner and Formula E runner-up, competed full-time in the 2017 and 2018 Formula 1 seasons, .
Discussion about this post