David Malukas gives vital update on hand injury struggles before IndyCar's Thermal Club race

David Malukas recently shared a crucial update on his post-hand injury soreness ahead of IndyCar's inaugural Thermal Club GP. The 23-year-old fractured his left wrist in February last year after a mountain biking accident. He underwent surgery on February 13 and the stitches were removed on February 22.

The injury prevented Malukas from debuting for Arrow McLaren at St. Pete. Being associated with McLaren was his dream come true, having signed a multi-year contract towards the end of the 2023 season. He felt "gutted" by the untimely incident.

Things took a turn for the worse as an indefinite recovery timeline led Arrow McLaren to terminate his contract in April. Upon full recovery, Meyer Shank Racing signed David Malukas for the rest of the season starting with the race at Laguna Seca on June 23.

The now-AJ Foyt Racing driver felt the after-effects of the injury during IndyCar's first race of 2025 at St. Petersburg. Ahead of the series' inaugural Thermal Club GP this weekend, he gave an update on the issue, saying (via Frontstretch on YouTube):

"It's (left hand) doing good. Obviously, it was a little bit sore after St. Pete... having that time off, to get back finally into the car, so definitely after that race, you know, 'All right, it's coming back'. It's the aggressive PT is what I call it. But now it's all healed up from St. Pete and now we're moving forward. It's doing really good."

David Malukas had a great first outing at St. Pete. He outperformed his experienced teammate, Santino Ferrucci, in both qualifying and the race. Malukas qualified in P17 and gained four places in the race to finish P13 to earn 17 points in the championship.

IndyCar's new hybrid system acts troublemaker for David Malukas' hand soreness

INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Day 2 - Source: Getty

IndyCar introduced the new hybrid power units in 2024. The drivers tested the new technology in the first half of the season before full implementation of it from race nine at Mid-Ohio onwards.

While talking about the extent of usage of his left hand during a full-length race, David Malukas explained how hybrid technology has increased the movement of the steering wheel, putting additional pressure on the wrists and hands. He said via Frontstretch.

"There's definitely a lot going on (with the hands during a race). Especially now with the hybrid, there's a lot of moving up and down with the steering wheel, so your hand's never stationary. So some new muscles need to be working."

Ahead of the Thermal Club race, Malukas had a decent outing on the 17-turn, 3.067-mile circuit during practice session 1 on Friday. He completed 14 laps and was the 19th-fastest among 27 drivers. The Thermal Club IndyCar GP is expected to be an unpredictable race with tire degradation.