Christian Lundgaard Needs A New Team. He Will Have Good Options

Christian Lundgaard should have no trouble finding an INDYCAR ride, and a good one at that. He shouldn’t have to find a ride, but here he is, needing a ride after Arrow McLaren opted that his two wins and being third in the standings wasn’t good enough for their goals of winning an Indianapolis 500 and having a proven championship mentality. The two best seats open are at Chip Ganassi Racing and Meyer Shank Racing, the places where the two new drivers (Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist) at Arrow McLaren are coming from. It would seem Ganassi would be the best fit and Lundgaard the most prepared to replace an icon in Dixon at Ganassi. He should win races right away. And as everyone knows, Chip Ganassi likes winners (hello: Alex Palou). It appears Ganassi might talk to some other drivers, but it would seem to be a waste of time. Lundgaard is the best driver available. He appears to put in the work. He doesn’t appear to be a problem for sponsors. While he isn’t the most bold personality on the circuit, he is polite and carries himself professionally. What’s not to like? Lundgaard will certainly cost some coin, but Ganassi should have the sponsorship to cover it. Maybe the formality is to make sure the sponsors are good with Lundgaard. Maybe Ganassi wants to look and see what other drivers it could build around or what other drivers might be helpful when the series transitions to a new car in 2028. If for some reason, Ganassi doesn’t hire Lundgaard, then MSR — a Ganassi affiliate — would be a likely place. Lundgaard is young at age 24, and Shank would have two great young drivers in him and Marcus Armstrong in its stable. Which would be a better fit? Both would be good fits. That’s what makes Lundgaard valuable. He appears he can adapt to various situations, whether it might be a little more corporate at Ganassi or a little more free-flowing at Meyer Shank. Lundgaard probably will want to make McLaren pay for releasing him. But he shouldn’t. And, frankly, he doesn’t need that motivation. He maybe had a little motivation earlier this year knowing he didn’t have a contract for 2027, but he probably figured if he built on his solid performance in 2025, a contract extension would happen. All Lundgaard needs to do is keep doing what he did this year on the road courses and improve on the ovals. There’s no reason to doubt that he will continue to hone his skills on both. The only question is which team will get that chance.