Arrow McLaren announced the promotion of Tony Kanaan as the organization’s team principal while also naming Kevin Thimjon as the organization’s president heading into the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season.
The news comes 10 days prior to the commencement of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES at the Streets of St. Petersburg for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg that is scheduled to occur next Sunday, March 2.
Under his new title as team principal, Kanaan, the 2013 Indianapolis 500 champion, will oversee Arrow McLaren’s driver and team development along with key commercial relationships. Kanaan, a native of Salvador, Brazil, who also claimed the 2004 IndyCar Series championship, was previously Arrow McLaren’s special advisor and deputy team principal over the previous two seasons. He made his 389th and final IndyCar start with the organization during the 2023 Indy 500, where he finished 16th.
Overall, Kanaan accumulated 17 race victories, 13 poles, 79 podiums, 4,077 laps led and an average-finishing result of 10.8 through 27 years with at least one start in IndyCar competition. He along with two-time Indy 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya were named Class of 2024 inductees for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in January. Both will be formally inducted on May 23, two days before the 109th running of the Indy 500.
“A lot has happened since my last Indy 500 less than two years ago, to say the least,” Kanaan said. “I’ve embraced every opportunity to grow with the team and I’m excited to officially step into the team principal role, and having Kevin join to take on the business side of our team is part of our winning strategy. We’re always looking for good people and talent to make the team stronger, and he and I will work well together.”
Meanwhile, Thimjon joins Arrow McLaren as the organization’s president after previously working in leadership roles at Core BTS, Lids Sports Group and Just Marketing International (JMI). His roles will include managing the team’s business operations involving administration, commercial strategy and finance while also being a member of McLaren Racing’s executive team.
“I’m looking forward to joining Arrow McLaren and getting back into motorsport,” Thimjon said. “[CEO] Zak [Brown] and I worked together at JMI for several years, so it will be great to work with him again and help grow a team and brand that has a lot of unlocked potential beyond the success it’s already realized. I have no doubt that Tony will get me up to speed on all things racing while we build the business with the strong team in place.”
The promotion of Kanaan and the addition of Thimjon excites Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, as he strives to make Arrow McLaren competitive for the upcoming IndyCar season.
“I’m excited to welcome Kevin to Arrow McLaren and our leadership group,” Brown said. “Kevin and I have stayed close since our days together at JMI, and he’s the right fit to set the team up for long-term success. A few months ago, I said if we can find extra horsepower to add to the team, we’ll add it, and Kevin is the perfect example of that. Under Tony’s leadership, the team has been moving forward quickly, and he and Kevin will work well together to keep that positive momentum up. Our sights are set on how we stabilize and grow strategically while competing at the top.”
Arrow McLaren is coming off its second consecutive season fielding three full-time entries and a fourth for the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This past season, Pato O’Ward steered the organization’s No. 5 Dallara-Chevrolet entry to three victories and a fifth-place result in the final standings, while Alexander Rossi recorded a single podium result and 11 top-10 finishes en route to a 10th-place result in the standings while driving the No. 7 entry. In addition, the No. 6 entry settled in 18th place in the Entrant standings after being split between Callum Ilott, Theo Pourchaire, and Nolan Siegel while Kyle Larson finished 18th while driving the No. 17 entry in his first Indy 500 start.
For the 2025 season, O’Ward and Ilott will pilot Arrow McLaren’s Nos. 5 and 6 Chevrolet entries, respectively, as full-time competitors. They will compete alongside Christian Lundgaard, the latter of whom replaces Rossi in the No. 7 Chevrolet entry.
Meanwhile, Larson will pilot the No. 17 Chevrolet entry for his second consecutive Indy 500 bid on May 25 during Memorial Day weekend. The event will serve as Larson’s first of two prestigious motorsports events he will attempt to compete in in a single day. He will then travel to Charlotte Motor Speedway and compete in the Coca-Cola 600 with Hendrick Motorsports.
The 2025 NTT INDYCAR Series season for Arrow McLaren is scheduled to commence on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The event is scheduled for next Sunday, March 2, and air at noon ET on FOX.
