With the silly season in full swing, McLaren is facing massive changes.
Ahead of the latest round at Mid-Ohio, Meyer Shank Racing announced Felix Rosenqvist would not return to the team in 2027. A week later, Chip Ganassi Racing announced Scott Dixon would not renew his contract for 2027.
The pair, who are both managed by ex-Formula 1 driver Stefan Johansson, are expected to land at McLaren. That will leave McLaren incumbents Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel out of a drive.
Lundgaard made comments before the Mid-Ohio race that suggested he was not allowed to negotiate with other teams. However, reports out of the United States indicate Kanaan has given him permission to do so and will not exercise its option on the Danish driver’s contract.
On Monday, the team celebrated its first one-two finish in the IndyCar Series. Pato O’Ward led pole position winner Lundgaard to the chequered flag while Siegel matched his season-best 10th.
Speaking post-race, Kanaan responded to the rumour mill, suggesting that no deals had been done for next year. He even went so far as to suggest Lundgaard was still under consideration.
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“I think first, there’s a lot of talk about what we’re doing in the team and a lot of speculation,” said Kanaan.
“I think we haven’t reached an agreement yet. I think you guys will see in the near future what the team is doing. We haven’t been able to agree on a couple things.
“But I think as a team principal, I’m responsible for running this team as best as I can, and I think Christian has shown his potential, but also, there are other options out there, and I’ve got to consider all of them. The decision hasn’t been made yet.
“Although people keep putting people in my cars, it’s not done until it’s done. He’s still very much in play, and he’s an extremely capable race car driver. We’ll see what’s going to happen.”
Asked about the noise, Kanaan said he was proud of the team’s ability to win despite the distractions.
“Hey, they make noise, we’ll make a bigger noise,” he said.
“That’s how we work. I think this is a statement of what it is. There is a lot of things going on, a lot of distraction, and we’re able to keep this team on track with what we came here to do.
“We came here to win the race. We came here to finish one-two-three, and we finished one-two. We’re trying to win this championship.
“I kept the team tight. I kept the team at truth. They’re going to hear from me whatever the decision is.
“If they haven’t heard from me, that means there is no decision made yet.
“But rest assured that the decision is going to come with a lot of certainty and not taking for granted that 130 people are putting their life and their faith towards me, towards this guy that has a lot of responsibility, and I feel responsible for all of them.”
Kanaan was given the reins of McLaren in 2025, replacing Gavin Ward.
The 2004 IndyCar Series winner and 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner said he was not afraid of change.
“If I have to take a gamble, take a gamble, and if I need to take a hit, I’ll take a hit,” said Kanaan.
“I’m here to win races. That’s what Zak (Brown) put me here for. That’s why I wake up every morning, and I’m working on that team for 13, 14 hours a day since I retired.
“For me, nothing is changing. Bring it on. Bring the distractions. We’ll keep changing that a little bit. Today we’re going to talk about one-two.”
Lundgaard has been McLaren’s best driver this year, winning at the road course-configured Indianapolis Motor Speedway and at Road America.
He sits third in the standings and only nine points away from second-placed Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global.
Asked post-race about his predicament, Lundgaard said “It isn’t really where my head’s at now” with seven races remaining in the season.
Siegel is also set to depart but was coy when asked about his future with the team.
“I still don’t know anything,” said Siegel.
“So for me, it’s very simple. I’m going to do the best job that I can in the car. If I do a good job in the car, that’ll certainly help my future in IndyCar.
“This is where I want to be. It’s where I want to stay. And honestly, the past few weeks, I feel like I’ve done what I’ve needed to do to show that I will be here.”
IndyCar continues on July 20 at Nashville.
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