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Will Buxton recently shared his thoughts on Nolan Siegel and his tough situation at Arrow McLaren in the 2025 NTT IndyCar season. A longtime famous Formula 1 journalist, Buxton switched to covering IndyCar in 2025. In a recent clip shared on IndyCar's official Instagram page, he spoke about the challenges Arrow McLaren and its three drivers; Pato O’Ward, Christian Lundgaard, and Nolan Siegel will face as the season kicks off on March 2, 2025.
While he pegged O'Ward and Lundgaard as known quantities in IndyCar, Buxton especially highlighted Siegel’s unique situation. The 20-year-old stepped up to IndyCar midway through last season and will now face his first full-time campaign with a high-profile team like Arrow McLaren. Buxton stressed that Siegel does not have the luxury of learning in the background as the team chases success.
"Nolan Siegel is also a really interesting story. A young kid who made a step up to IndyCar halfway through last season, he doesn't have the time to just hide away and learn in the shadows because the lens is going to be directed straight at him in a team with big ambitions. And that means he has to prove his value to the team every single weekend," Buxton shared.
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Buxton also highlighted that Arrow McLaren has undergone major changes, including the leadership of the team. Gavin Ward stepped aside in 2024, and Tony Kanaan took over as the team’s de facto boss. McLaren’s F1 success, with the team winning the Constructors' Championship in 2024, raises questions about whether that positive momentum will carry over to its IndyCar program.
He pointed out that the team’s drivers spent time in McLaren’s F1 garage last year, and wonders how that experience will impact their performance this season.
Nolan Siegel had a difficult debut race with Arrow McLaren
Nolan Siegel made his debut with Arrow McLaren at the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey after taking over the No. 6 car from Theo Pourchaire. And while a 12th-place finish might seem like a good debut result on the outside, things didn't go so well for him for most of the weekend.
He struggled in practice, finishing last in the first session and second-to-last in the second. Qualifying was also a challenge, as he failed to advance from his group and ended up starting in P23. At the start of the race, Siegal dropped to 26th and remained there until his first pit stop on lap 20.
Later, when a caution was brought out on lap 36, he chose not to pit and moved up to 12th for the restart. However, his race took a bad turn when he spun into the gravel after the restart and rejoined at the back of the field.
Despite the setback, Siegal benefited from issues affecting other drivers. Incidents like Scott McLaughlin’s suspension failure, David Malukas suffering a puncture, and Josef Newgarden’s spin on lap 92 helped him climb back up the order to finish 12th.
While there were no standout moments in Nolan Siegel's 10-race stint with Arrow McLaren in 2024, he did manage a top-10 finish in his sixth race, where he secured P7. Will Buxton rightly said that Nolan Siegel no longer has the luxury to stay in the shadows of his two more experienced teammates who are established race winners in IndyCar.
