Continuing its acquisition of major sponsors, McLaren Racing has announced that semiconductor manufacturing company Onsemi will be an official partner of the Arrow McLaren SP IndyCar team.

The company will also hold prime sponsorship branding on Felix Rosenqvist’s car for a portion of next season.

Onsemi will be the title sponsor on the #6 entry for four races, and will hold minor branding locations on all of the team’s cars throughout the season.

Rosenqvist will have NTT Data on his car for many of the season’s remaining races, including the Indianapolis 500.

“We’re delighted that onsemi will be joining us to lead the identity of Felix’s race car in 2023,” said Matt Dennington, Executive Director of Partnerships at McLaren.

“This partnership is crucial to our team, with onsemi’s technology ingrained in the Arrow McLaren SP race cars.

“Like McLaren, onsemi is determined to make a positive impact beyond its sector, making this a transformational union of brands both on and off the racetrack.  We look forward to a successful partnership and joining forces in pursuit of the IndyCar championship together.”

McLaren utilizes Onsemi components in its steering wheels and other critical components, and is planning to use the partnership to help make the most of the upcoming switch to hybrid powertrains.

McLaren has been efficiently expanding its IndyCar operations since joining the series just a few years ago, grabbing high-profile engineers, drivers, and sponsors to become one of the top competing teams on the grid.

Part of the team’s efficiency comes naturally due to the team’s long-time presence in Formula 1.  Many of the resources and lessons learned on the world stage have been quickly applied to efforts in the American-based series.

Alexander Rossi has officially joined Arrow McLaren SP, making his way into the race shop and getting familiar with his new team over the past week.

The new surroundings come after the 31-year-old had driven for Andretti Autosport since joining IndyCar in 2016, and is the first time he’s been presented with new work environment in quite some time.

Rossi had become increasingly disappointed with his results at Andretti, and his lone win in 2022 broke a three-year-long winless streak that stretched back to Road America in 2019.

In a short question and answer session released by his new team, Rossi described what was most intriguing about the opportunity to join AMSP.

“If you look at the team’s trajectory in the past couple of years, it has been the most impressive on the entire grid,” said Rossi.  “Starting to get to know the team and Zak Brown, understanding what Zak’s vision is for the future, I think that coupled with the on-track results speak for themselves.

“When the opportunity came and we found out they were adding a third car, it was a pretty easy decision to proceed down that path.  I feel very excited with the runway that we have as an organization and for what we can accomplish in the future.”

Rossi has attempted to be diplomatic about his former team’s struggles at short ovals in particular, but did relate multiple times that he is looking forward to being competitive on all types of circuits next season.

For comparison, Romain Grosjean was the only Andretti driver to finish in the top 10 at any of the season’s three short oval races, whereas AMSP’s two drivers notched four top 10s and a win at the same three races.

Rossi will race alongside the team’s returning duo Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist in 2023, as well as Tony Kanaan, who will be joining the team for his 22nd Indy 500 attempt in May.

Tony Kanaan will pilot an Arrow McLaren SP entry for next year’s Indianapolis 500, confirming rumors that began a couple weeks before.

The popular veteran will be racing in his 22nd Indy 500 next May, and will be contesting the race for his sixth different team as he searches for a second victory of the iconic race.

The news follows a recent report by RACER that AMSP crew members had been briefed on the intent to have Kanaan race for the team next season.

At 48 years old, Kanaan will have the backing of NTT Data as a sponsor for the big race, rekindling a partnership that lasted from 2015-2017 at Chip Ganassi Racing.

“I feel extremely lucky to get another shot racing in the Indy 500,” said Kanaan.  “I’m excited to work with Pato [O’Ward], Felix [Rosenqvist] and Alexander [Rossi] and race with the Arrow McLaren SP team.

“My biggest battle in last year’s race was against these three drivers so working with them and driving with them will be exciting for all of us.”

2023 will mark the first time AMSP has raced four cars in the Indy 500 since taking over the team in 2020, and points towards the team’s continued growth.

Finding a driver was the last step in the team’s decision to race four cars, as equipment and personnel concerns were already sorted out earlier in the planning phase.

A number has not yet been announced for Kanaan’s entry, but the team has used numbers 66 and 86 in the past for the singe-race entries of Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya respectively.

NTT Data will be leaving Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing for the upcoming 2023 IndyCar season, moving its major sponsorship presence over to Felix Rosenqvist at Arrow McLaren SP.

NTT will be the lead partner for Rosenqvist’s #6 entry for 10 of next year’s 17 races, including some of the biggest races of the year such as the Indianapolis 500 and the season opener at St. Petersburg.

Rosenqvist previously had NTT sponsorship on his car when he drove for Ganassi for 2019 and 2020, and will be paired with the company once again.

NTT will also sponsor AMSP’s fourth car for the Indy 500, which was recently announced will be piloted by Tony Kanaan.

Kanaan has also driven a blue NTT livery in the past during his time with Ganassi, showing that the brand seems to employ loyalty to individual drivers as much as it does to their teams.

“NTT DATA joining our great group of partners is a huge boost for Arrow McLaren SP,” said McLaren CEO Zak Brown.  “I’m thrilled they will be representing our No. 6 car as a Lead Partner and a major sponsor for our fourth entry in the Indy 500, piloted by Tony Kanaan.

“Tony proved last year he can compete with the best of them, and I’m excited to see him put on a show with our team next May.”

NTT Data posted a short message on social media reading “As we wave the checkered flag on our 10-year partnership with [Chip Ganassi Racing], we appreciate the successes—including the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship—and the everlasting memories and friendships.”

The technology company’s first sponsorship deal with Ganassi came in 2013 when the company purchased the main sponsor rights to Ryan Briscoe’s Indy 500 entry in 2013.

The company then sponsored Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Ed Jones, Felix Rosenqvist, and Alex Palou over the years as the team cycled through drivers over the past decade.

Palou had other companies sponsor his car for five of the last seven events of the 2022 season, and word around the paddock hinted that was partially due to the reigning champion’s contract dispute, which took the headlines for much of that time.

It is unknown if that lengthy dispute had any bearing on the company finding a new partner for next season.

NTT is also the title sponsor of the NTT IndyCar Series, having taken over from Verizon in 2019.

Tony Kanaan, one of the more popular and tenured drivers in the IndyCar paddock, is set to return to run his 22nd Indianapolis 500 in 2023 behind the wheel of a fourth Arrow McLaren SP entry.

RACER has learned that members of the team were told earlier in the week that Kanaan would be joining the squad next May alongside full time drivers Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist, and Alexander Rossi.

The news comes shortly after Zak Brown made it known that a decision on a fourth AMSP entry was going to be made soon.

There is no official announcement from the team at this time, but one is expected to be made in the near future.

Kanaan has contested the Indy 500 for Chip Ganassi Racing the past two seasons, earning two top ten results in his reunion with the historic team, including a podium last year.

He has raced for five different teams over the past two decades, and has won the infamous race once with KV Racing in 2013.

When Kanaan competes in his 22nd Indy 500 this upcoming May, he will be 48 years old and will likely be the oldest driver on the grid.

With this extension to his career, the veteran continues to push back his retirement ever further.

He initially announced that his final season in IndyCar would be 2020, but has continued in the series as the pandemic and fan response helped to change his mind.

It is unknown if Kanaan will run any races other than the Indy 500, but AMSP has fielded its additional car for the preceding race around the Indianapolis road course each of the previous two seasons.

Arrow McLaren SP is working hard to make a decision on whether or not to run an additional car for the 2023 Indianapolis 500 next May.

According to a report on RACER.com, the team is trending towards a decision within the next few weeks.

After taking some time to lock down its driver situation, AMSP is confirmed to have Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist, and Alexander Rossi as its three full time drivers next season.

An additional driver would need to be found for the fourth Indy 500 entry, but McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown told RACER that the main sticking point is figuring out whether a fourth car would be helpful to the team overall.

“We’ll make a decision in the next two weeks, because I either want to be totally prepared or not do it,” said Brown. “So we’ll make a decision soon, and it’s definitely something we’re still considering.

“The stress on the system, so to speak, is what we’re evaluating.  We’ve got the equipment; we’ve got the people.  It’s whether the fourth car is additive that we’re looking at, and if it will help the other three cars which are competing for the championship.”

AMSP has run an additional car for the Indy 500 since entering into a partnership with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2020.

But with the team adding an additional full time entry in 2023, running a fourth car for the Month of May would give the team extra logistical challenges above and beyond finding an available driver.

McLaren is currently considering running a fourth car in the upcoming Indianapolis 500, and is reportedly eyeing up NASCAR driver Kyle Busch to pilot the entry.

According to a report from the Associated Press, McLaren CEO Zak Brown has been having serious conversations with Busch recently about the potential crossover next May.

Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, recently announced that he was going to be driving for Richard Childress Racing for 2023, and his new contract gives him permission to compete in the Indy 500 with a Chevrolet-powered entry.

If plans fall into place, Busch would become just the sixth driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca Cola 600 on the same day, and the first to do so since his brother Kurt Busch in 2014.

Racing in both events is often known as ‘The Memorial Day Double,’ and driving in both races demands setting up a detailed travel schedule to move between Indianapolis, Indiana and Charlotte, North Carolina throughout the build-up to each race.

With the two tracks being 430 miles apart, travelling from one event to the next on race day can be quite challenging, let alone the fatigue involved in racing 1,100 miles in one day.

Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon each completed ‘The Double’ multiple times, with Stewart earning the best result in his 2001 attempt by finishing sixth in the Indy 500 and third in that evening’s NASCAR race.

AMSP will have three full time entries for the 2023 IndyCar season with the addition of Alexander Rossi, and is currently building up staff to support the expansion.

The team has often run an extra car in the Indy 500, including years ago when the team was known as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and had no McLaren involvement.

The past two seasons, Juan Pablo Montoya has filled the extra seat that the team has fielded, but no future plans have been announced for the veteran driver at this time.

The President of Arrow McLaren SP Taylor Kiel is stepping down from his role, the team has announced.

The move is effective immediately, and a replacement for his role within the growing team did not accompany the news.

The wording of the announcement states that Kiel resigned, as opposed to being released by the team, implying that his performance or standing within the team did not lead to the split.

The official release from McLaren was very short, and did not elaborate on the reasons for his departure.

“Effective Tuesday, September 20, Taylor Kiel is stepping down as Arrow McLaren SP President after two seasons.  As the team grows to three cars for the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series season, announcements on team management will be made in due course.”

As President of AMSP, Kiel has been one of the more visible members of the team regarding driver announcement and performance.

He was a key figure in the signing of Alexander Rossi, who will be joining the team as a third entry next season.

His consistently calm demeanor over the radio also helped his ace driver Pato O’Ward to achieve four wins over the past two seasons.

“It’s been an honor to work for Arrow McLaren SP for more than a decade,” said Kiel on Twitter.  “As I step away, I am most proud of growing this team into a powerhouse able to fight for championships and wins each week.

“I now look forward to spending time with my own growing family and whatever’s next!”

Arrow McLaren SP has confirmed that Felix Rosenqvist will remain with the team for next season, ending an uncomfortably long period where it was not known which series he would be driving in.

McLaren first announced that it had extended Rosenqvist’s contract back in June, but it was left open if he would have a place in IndyCar or if he would be moved to the team’s Formula E venture.

Following that was the saga of Alex Palou, who seemed to have a valid contract with both Chip Ganassi Racing and McLaren, which further muddied the waters over who would be driving the #7 entry next season.

When news dropped early Wednesday morning that Palou and Ganassi had come to an agreement to keep the 2021 champion in the #10 entry, that immediately meant that the third AMSP entry was available.

Within minutes of Palou’s announcement, McLaren released a statement confirming that Rosenqvist would be filling that void and remaining in his current seat next season.

“There’s no better way to enter the off-season than with this news,” said Rosenqvist in the release.  “I love this team, and I’m so happy to continue working with all the incredible people I’ve gotten to know over the past two seasons.

“With everything the team has in the pipeline, the continuing relationship with Pato [O’Ward] and the addition of Alex Rossi, we are going to bring our A-game for 2023.  It will be the most exciting season for me so far.  Let it be March already!”

There had been reports that if a definite arrangement was not found within the month, then Rosenqvist would have been allowed to look around for a ride with different teams.

That is not necessary, however, as the 30-year-old will now be allowed to stay with AMSP for a third season, which appeared to be his first choice all along.

The Swede did everything he could to convince his team, and others, that he was a worthy driver during the period of uncertainty, upping his performance by claiming 10 top 10 finishes throughout the season.

He admitted that the decision of where he raced was out of his hands, as other driver decisions needed to be made before his situation was confirmed.

Rosenqvist will look to continue his good form next season, driving alongside Pato O’Ward and his new team-mate Alexander Rossi at the newly-expanded three car team.

During Sunday’s IndyCar race from Road America, Pato O’Ward suffered an unexpected engine failure with just nine laps remaining.

The early retirement put an end to what was a mediocre weekend for the star driver, but he may not have a future grid penalty to add insult to injury.

According to a Chevy spokesperson, O’Ward’s engine does not appear to be damaged after all.  The engine was re-fired in the garage area following the race, and no immediate issues were evident.

The suspicion at this time is that the problem that ended his day was electrical in nature, and that the engine will be able to be used in future races without penalty.

Arrow McLaren SP plans to remove the engine from the chassis and send it to Detroit to go through a full evaluation before making any final decisions.

It is also not known at this time if the problem originated from the team’s end or through a defect in the engine itself, but that answer is high on the list of priorities for the evaluation.

O’Ward was knocking on the door of a top 10 result following an already tough weekend when his engine suddenly lost power heading into turn 12.

He was not able to return to the pits, and finished in the 26th position.  The hit to the Mexican driver’s points situation may be the most damaging, as he fell from third to fourth and lost considerable ground to the new leader Marcus Ericsson.

AMSP and Chevrolet have a few weeks to find the issue, as the series enters a two-week break before heading to Mid-Ohio the weekend of July 3.