Meyer Shank Racing has signed Felix Rosenqvist from Arrow McLaren to join Tom Blomqvist in the team next year, with Simon Pagenaud’s future in IndyCar now in doubt.
Rosenqvist has driven for McLaren since 2021, when he joined after two seasons at Chip Ganassi Racing including a rookie of the year effort in 2019 and his sole career race win in 2020 at Road America.
The Swede is 12th in the championship standings in 2023 and has struggled to match team leader Pato O’Ward this year and continue the progress he made last year when he finished eighth, one year on from ending up 21st during his maiden season with McLaren.
Rosenqvist has been the odd one out at McLaren for two seasons now. Last year it signed Alexander Rossi and tried to add Alex Palou, which would have signalled Rosenqvist’s exit, but after a lawsuit was settled out of court Rosenqvist got a reprieve.
Rosenqvist is currently 38 points behind Rossi, and although he’s sixth in the series in terms of average start (9.31), his average finish (14.19) shows where there is work to do in terms of race execution and consistency.
McLaren has been to blame for some of his issues, but crashes and errors have been too frequent in his McLaren tenure.
He was told recently he could look for other options with Palou expected to join McLaren once again – until McLaren boss Zak Brown revealed Palou wouldn’t be joining the team, potentially once again propping the door open for Rosenqvist to stay.
However Shank’s desire to sign Rosenqvist – the two have been linked for some time now – clearly helped sway Rosenqvist’s decision.
Shank may well have been the best seat available for Rosenqvist. On paper, they are both capable of high peaks but have struggled for consistency.
The main upside for Shank is that Rosenqvist is likely better than any other established IndyCar driver it could have gone for to join the team.
The upside is that Shank is brilliant at securing and keeping sponsors, has a really good handle on making big decisions for the team’s future, and on occasion it has shown it can compete with IndyCar’s best.
Shank’s main trouble has been with keeping its tyres alive – something technical partner Andretti has also struggled with – pitstops and strategy management. Those are all fixable things and the addition of a pitcrew coach at the start of the season was part of that.
This could be the joining of two inconsistent partners showing flashes of brilliance. But it could also be Rosenqvist helping Shank to improve the areas that have held it back from emerging as one of the ‘best of the rest’ from IndyCar’s midfield.
“I’m super excited to start the next chapter of my IndyCar career together with MSR,” said Rosenqvist.
“This will be a great opportunity for myself and MSR to elevate and get to the next level together. I’m also pretty excited to get to work with my old friend Tom (Blomqvist) again. I’m ready to start working together and getting the next season started.”
Pagenaud was having a very tough second season for Shank lying 24th after eight races before a somersaulting Mid-Ohio crash led to a concussion and ended his season.
His future beyond the end of his current contract at the end of this year is now up in the air.
Pagenaud won the title in 2016 and the Indy 500 in Rosenqvist’s maiden IndyCar season, but just four years later he is facing a spell on the IndyCar sidelines if he can’t secure a seat.
His exit may have been on the cards for a while after his start to the season, but his injury certainly complicates how Shank’s driver moves will be perceived while there’s an injured champion on the sideline.
Keyword: Rosenqvist leaves Mc Laren in latest 2024 IndyCar switch