Photo: McLaren
McLaren has announced that Nolan Siegel will join its IndyCar line-up for the rest of 2024, driving the car that Theo Pourchaire was due to occupy for the remaining races.
The team signed David Malukas for this season, but fractured his hand in a mountain biking accident in February and after surgery was forced to miss the first few races. Callum Ilott and Pourchaire subsitituted for him through the first five races, then last month Pourchaire was signed for the rest of the season having impressed the team.
Just 40 days later he has been replaced, with Siegel making his debut at Laguna Seca this weekend. He will not only do the 10 races left in 2024, but will also be a McLaren driver for at least the next two seasons as he has signed a multi-year deal.
Siegel’s primary programme this year has been Indy Nxt, where he sits fourth in the standings with one win, and in March he also signed an IndyCar deal with Dale Coyne Racing to contest four races. Three of those events have already passed, and he will now instead race for McLaren in Toronto. He also joined Juncos Hollinger Racing for the most recent race at Road America, and was the LMP2 class winner at the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours last weekend for the United Autosports team co-owned by McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
“I’m looking forward to jumping right in with the McLaren team this week and confirming my place in the IndyCar series in papaya moving forward,” said the 19-year-old.
“This is an unexpected jump, but I’m thrilled to be in this position after a rewarding run in the Indy Nxt series with HMD Motorsports. I’m looking forward to this new journey and learning alongside the entire team starting this weekend in my home state.”
Gavin Ward, team principal of McLaren’s IndyCar squad, added: “Stability and sustained growth are key to our long-term game plan here, and this is a significant step in that mission. First, I want to thank Theo for his time filling in on the number six car with us in recent weeks. We’ve been working through musical chairs all season, and ultimately, making this change to Nolan now that he’s available gives us the chance to build a foundation for the future. He’s a young, talented driver with an immense amount of experience at this stage of his career and we’re excited to continue on the upward journey together.”
Pourchaire, who Formula Scout reached out to, has not commented on what instigated his departure from the seat and what his racing plans are now for the rest of 2024.