Speedcafe first reported a link between Dixon and McLaren in 2018 amid speculation that McLaren might enter IndyCar.
McLaren eventually partnered with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2020 and took the reins entirely by 2023.
Rumours of Dixon making a move to McLaren have been a familiar silly season storyline, whether by design as a bargaining chip, or otherwise.
Ultimately, every time Dixon’s contract has been on the brink of expiration, the New Zealander has extended his stay at Ganassi.
So why has Dixon decided to depart the race shop he’s called home and the crew he’s called family for 25 years?
Since that 2018 report, Dixon has slowly but surely been superseded by Alex Palou. The Spaniard has won four of the last five titles and Dixon is no longer the number one.
But it’s not just about being beaten.
“You always want to be competitive. The fire still burns really strong,” Dixon said between his exit from Ganassi being announced and his move to McLaren being confirmed.
“I think change is inevitable at some point and all I can really say is that I have a lot of fantastic memories with this team and everybody there is like family.
“It definitely wasn’t a decision taken lightly. It’s just time for change.”
Dixon has not yet spoken about his motivations for joining McLaren, though that will surely come in time.
Financial incentives, sports car opportunities in its new Hypercar, leadership roles post-retirement, and as many Indianapolis 500 starts as he’d like after his full-time career concludes are among mooted carrots.
As for McLaren’s motivations, Brown has made them clear. He wants McLaren to win the Triple Crown. It has Monaco, but Indianapolis and Le Mans remain elusive.
By signing Dixon, McLaren gets IndyCar’s greatest of the modern era, an Indianapolis 500 winner, the driver who has led the most laps ever at the Brickyard, and a knowledge bank unlike any other driver on the grid from inside one of the sport’s most successful teams.
All signs point towards Indianapolis and only Indianapolis. Ultimately, the championship is secondary, even if Brown tries to make you think otherwise in his press quotes.
Make no mistake, Indianapolis is what McLaren and the rest of the world care about. If McLaren really cared about the Astor Cup, it wouldn’t have let Lundgaard go.
IndyCar’s diehard fans have been left bewildered by the decision to dump Lundgaard, given he has been Palou’s closest rival of late. But he hasn’t won on an oval and McLaren grew impatient over that hurdle.
Lundgaard’s oval rap sheet this season includes finishes of 13th at Phoenix, 17th at Indianapolis, and 10th at Gateway.
It could count on Pato O’Ward to perform, but a single top 10 finish in five attempts across two teams made McLaren question its commitment to Lundgaard.
“Monday after the Indy 500, I sat down with Zak. I said, ‘Zak, we need to make a decision’,” McLaren IndyCar team principal Tony Kanaan told David Land.
“We have a huge talent here in Christian. It’s tough because we’re trying to bring him up. He will win on an oval.
“Zak was like ‘Okay. Timeline? Give me something’. I sat down with the team, Ryan [Hunter-Reay] and we talked about being realistic with Christian.
“Anybody can win the Indy 500 depending on the circumstances, but I said, ‘Realistically, are we a year or two away? Probably’.
“Well, I said [to Zak] ‘I want to know your patience. How much do you want to wait?’ Typical Zak, he’s never able to give you an answer without a question, so he asked that back to me.
“I said obviously in racing we don’t have time, so we need to consider what we’re going to do because we have a (contract) option to pick up.”
History suggests that oval success takes time, even for the best. It took 44 oval starts before four-time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti took his first oval win and it took 28 starts for Palou to get his first.
Lundgaard will likely get to work with both of them at the same time. The 24-year-old is the favourite to replace Dixon at Ganassi.
Kanaan acknowledged that Lungaard had gotten better on ovals and be the best road course racer for the time being, but the opportunity to sign Dixon and Rosenqvist was too good to pass by.
For Kanaan, the message is clear. He wants every car to be considered a threat to win the Indianapolis 500, much like Ganassi and Penske.
“This race is what made IndyCar what IndyCar is – and I’m not making the championship smaller,” said Kanaan.
“It’s the race he (Zak Brown) wants to win. That’s the race that he hasn’t won.”
Fans can question Dixon’s age, but he’s still an Indianapolis 500 winner. Fans can question Rosenqvist getting back with his ex, but he’s still an Indianapolis 500 winner.
McLaren felt it needed heavyweights, and it got them alongside IndyCar’s most popular driver in O’Ward who has come agonisingly close to winning the big dance year after year.
With two signatures, it can safely be said it has as good a line-up as Ganassi or Penske heading into the 2027 Indianapolis 500, and that will be a big ego boost when Brown and Kanaan strut through Gasoline Alley.
Strong relationships are fundamental to the success of sports teams.
Kanaan claims Dixon to be one of his best friends. O’Ward was Rosenqvist’s best man at his wedding. Brown and Dixon have known each other since the late 1990s. It has all the hallmarks of a harmonious team.
Kanaan reckons that is the key to success at McLaren.
“He chose us. The phone call came from him,” said Kanaan of Dixon.
Timing is also important to consider. Next year will be the last with the current Dallara-built chassis before a long-overdue new car is introduced. Experience, Kanaan reckons, will count as the team gets up to speed.
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