INDIANAPOLIS — While the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix will take place this Sunday at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Mclaren Racing Chief Executive Officer Zak Brown will not be holding station north of the American border.
Instead, the California native who has been an instrumental figure in getting the McLaren Formula 1 team up at the sharp end of the grid in recent years will be at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the weekend’s 110th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Set to send out four drivers on Sunday – Pato O’Ward (No. 5), Nolan Siegel (No. 6), Christian Lundgaard (No. 7) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 31) – it has been precisely 50 years since Johnny Rutherford powered a Mclaren M16 beneath the checkered flag at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Adhering to an “Unfinished Business” mantra and initiative in the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team’s pursuit of a fourth Indy 500 victory, Arrow McLaren is all-in. A race of terrific importance to both Brown and MacLaren, on Friday afternoon, the papaya team overlord checked in from the Brickyard.
“The Indy 500 is what I started watching earliest,” explained Brown of the importance the 500 holds for him and his place in motor racing. “I think the first 500 I saw was in 1980 with Johnny Rutherford winning. I actually didn’t go to my first Indy 500 until 1996 when Buddy Lazier won. I’ve probably been there 20 times since. For me, Indy is the most famous, most iconic race in the world. I kind of grew up around IndyCar, so I was IndyCar first from being involved in the sport.”
Brown was shuffled into the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team back in 2021 when McLaren Racing announced to the world that they were purchasing a 75-percent stake in the team’s namesake at that point in time, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
“We kind of started with a strategical alliance and then it turned into minority ownership and then we ultimately bought the entire thing,” explained Brown. “With the team, when you’re strategic partner, you have a little bit of influence. When you’re minority owner, you have a little more influence. When you have majority ownership, you have a lot of influence. When you have 100-percent ownership, you can do what you want.
“Ultimately, that’s where we needed to get to because until you get to at least the majority state, you can’t do everything you want. The team that we bought, we knew was a better jumping off point than starting from scratch,” Brown added. “Today, we finally feel like we’ve got everything in place and I think the results last year were the best year of results the Arrow McLaren team ever had. We had 12 podiums and I think that shows how much progress the team has made. We’re coming off a win at the last race and I think we are not quite yet at the, call it the Penske or Ganassi level, but I think we’re very close and not very far away.’
Fifty years removed from the last McLaren Indy 500 triumph, Brown was adamant in how much another 500 win would mean to the entire organization.
“Critically important to win,” stated Brown. “We’re here to win.”
So possessed to drink milk out of a bottle at Indy in ‘26, Arrow McLaren actually incorporated Unfinished Business branding into the overall design of all four Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team Dallara Chevrolet DW12 race cars.
“We only recently had our third McLaren IndyCar winner – Johnny Rutherford, Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard – and we have finished second twice in the last few years. We got passed on the last lap last year. I kind of feel like we could have two or three Indy wins under our belt at the moment and we have none that are within the last 50 years. We definitely have some unfinished business.”
“Never Stop Racing” has been another three-word strategic and motivational statement which reverberates within the walls of Mclaren’s global race headquarters.
“Yes, that’s just a mindset to never stop pushing and to never stop racing. McLaren racing is all about that,” nodded Brown. “That’s what it says on the front door. I think we’ve got four cars that can win. I think we have two drivers that are very experienced. One of the reasons why we brought Ryan Hunter-Reay in was not only because we think he’s capable of winning, but he’s also capable of bringing some experience to Nolan and Christian, who are less experienced.
“This is an important thing to get that combination right. The unfortunate part for us, but the exciting part for the fans is that there are about 12 cars that can win. There might be 15 cars that can win. I’m glad we’ve got four in the mix. That’s good odds, but this is not a walk in the park.”
Brown addressed how Arrow McLaren will approach the 2026 Indianapolis 500.
“I think we’ve got to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” the native of Los Angeles said. “We’ve been so close. We’ve led a lot of laps. Ww just haven’t led the last lap. I think it is business as usual. You’ve got to be there with 20 laps to go. We’ll work together. You’ve just got to kind of be there inside the top five, the top eight with 20 las to go. I think, ultimately, you’re not going to win this race on the first lap as the saying goes. I think it’s about having all four cars in the mix with 20 laps to go.”
And a win would be of the utmost importance to Brown and the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team.
“Yeah, of course,” said Brown adamantly. “As is Le Mans, we’re the only team to have won the Triple Crown. We want to do it again, all in the papaya era. The Formula 1 is going great. We’re in the middle of testing. IndyCar is great, but we’ve got a lot of unfinished business.”
