A day after revealing himself to be a free agent for the upcoming NTT IndyCar Series season, Alexander Rossi has a new team to call home after announcing that he has inked a contract to drive for Arrow McLaren SP on a multiyear basis, beginning in 2023.
The 30-year-old Rossi from Nevada City, California, is currently campaigning in his seventh full-time IndyCar season with Andretti Autosport, where he is ranked in 11th place in the drivers’ championship standings on the strength of three top-10 results through the first six scheduled events, including a fifth-place result during last weekend’s 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The announcement comes a day after Andretti Autosport revealed that Rossi would be replaced by Kyle Kirkwood, the reigning Indy Lights champion who is now a rookie IndyCar competitor this season for AJ Foyt Enterprises.
“First, I want to thank everyone at Andretti Autosport for an incredible seven years,” Rossi said. “It has been a great ride with an awesome team, and it has been an honor to race for the Andretti name and for Michael for so long. The time has come for a new challenge, with a team that is growing in the sport. I look forward to contributing to the development of Arrow McLaren SP and helping them reach the top. I see the commitment this team has to each other and to me, and I’m looking forward to getting started. It’s time for me to race for another one of motorsport’s biggest names: McLaren.”
Rossi joins the McLaren Racing family with a bevy of success across different motorsports regions, including five starts in Formula One and victories in the GP2 Series, Formula BMW Americas and the World Final, the 2021 Baja 1000 and the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona. He became a full-time IndyCar competitor in 2016 after signing with Andretti Autosport and six races into his rookie season, he utilized fuel strategy to win the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 and notch his first career victory in the IndyCar Series. He went on to achieve six additional victories and a total of six poles and 25 podiums to his resume through May 2022 with a best points result of second place in 2018. He also holds a current average-finishing result of 9.7.
Rossi’s move to Arrow McLaren SP will mark his first time competing for a new time in the IndyCar Series, where he will be a teammate to Pato O’Ward as part of the team’s plans to expand to three cars for next season. O’Ward, who is ranked in second place in this year’s championship standings on the strength of winning at Barber Motorsports Park in early May and finishing in second place during last weekend’s Indianapolis 500, inked a contract extension with Arrow McLaren SP nearly a week ago to remain with the organization through 2025.
“As we look forward to 2023, we are looking for a driver that will be a great fit and bring experience to the team,” Taylor Kiel, President of Arrow McLaren SP, said. “Alex is a driver who knows what it takes to succeed in this sport and will strengthen our talented driver line-up. He shares the same winning mindset that I see every day across Arrow McLaren SP and I think we will find a lot of success together in the years to come.”
“Alex is a proven race winner and an Indianapolis 500 champion, who shares our desire to win,” Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, added. “It is essential that we put the right talent in place, both inside and outside the car, so we can consistently compete for championships and race wins as a team. He is someone we have had our eye on for some time and we’re excited to see what he’ll do as a part of Arrow McLaren SP.”
Announcements regarding Arrow McLaren SP’s third and final driver as part of the three-car lineup is yet to be determined.
With his racing plans for next season and beyond set, Rossi sets his focus for the upcoming NTT IndyCar Series event at Belle Isle Circuit for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, which will occur on Sunday, June 5, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
