IndyCar News: Ilott in the Mix for 2025 Arrow McLaren Seat after Impressive Performance
The Brit’s Breakthrough Performance
Callum Ilott has been making the most of his opportunities with Arrow McLaren in the 2024 IndyCar season, including a 15th place start in Sunday’s 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500. After losing his full-time seat with Juncos Hollinger Racing at the end of 2023, Ilott signed with Team Jota to compete in the World Endurance Championship, where he currently sits second in the overall standings. However, an injury to David Malukas presented an opportunity for Ilott to join Arrow McLaren, and he hasn’t looked back since.
“Yes, he did a really good job. We wanted to see him on an oval plus Theo having never driven an oval; he’s now done a test in St. Louis. We kind of felt like here’s another way to evaluate. We were very happy with what we saw on the street race and road course.”
Consideration for 2025 Seat
The Brit finished 13th in the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and also competed in the non-points exhibition at The Thermal Club. While his WEC commitments allowed Arrow McLaren to evaluate reigning Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire for Long Beach and Barber, Ilott’s performances have not gone unnoticed.
When asked by Motorsport.com about Ilott’s chances of landing a seat with Arrow McLaren for 2025, team owner Zak Brown replied that Ilott is “definitely on our consideration list” for a 2025 seat, but Pourchaire is not the only other contender.
The team’s IndyCar schedule for 2024 has been affected by contract drama with Alex Palou and the injury to Malukas, which led to the rotation between Ilott and Pourchaire.
Solidifying the 2025 Driver Lineup
Pato O’Ward signed a multi-year extension over the offseason, but the status of his teammate, Alexander Rossi, remains unknown. Brown expects to solidify the 2025 driver lineup soon, with conversations expected to take place immediately after the Indy 500.
“Now, it’s like catch our breath, focus on Indy and turn our attention to what we’re gonna do with our driver lineup after this race. Those conversations will come real quickly. We’ve got a short list as you can imagine.”
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