If at first you don’t succeed ...
After failing to qualify for this year’s running of the Indy 500, McLaren will enter the Indycar series full-time in 2020.
The British automaker is teaming up with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports to create Arrow McLaren Racing SP, and will run two cars powered by Chevrolet engines.
A mainstay on the Formula One circuit, McLaren hasn’t been a full-season Indycar competitor since 1979.
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"IndyCar has been part of McLaren since our early years of racing, and the series today provides not only a commercial platform to continue to grow our brand in North America, but competition with some of the best teams in international motorsport," said Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing. "We come to IndyCar in full respect of the sport, our competitors, the fans and the task ahead.”
It’s not clear if either of the team’s current drivers James Hinchcliffe and Marcus Ericsson, will return next season.
McLaren partnered with Carlin to enter a car for Fernando Alonso in the 2019 Indy 500, but came up short on Bump Day. The prior year, it had more success with Andretti Autosport when Alonso was competing for the win until his engine failed with just 21 laps to go.
The new team has the option of adding a third car for the Indy 500, in the event that Alonso wants to return for another try.
The Associated Press contributed to this report