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Arrow McLaren's newest driver Christian Lundgaard referenced their sister team's recent F1 dominance after securing a front-row lockout for IndyCar's Thermal Club Grand Prix. Pato O'Ward earned pole position on Saturday, with Lundgaard less than two-tenths behind in P2. It was the team's first front-row lockout in IndyCar.
McLaren's F1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri started the trend with a similar 1-2 in qualifying at the season-opening Australian GP last weekend. Christian Lundgaard touched upon this fortuitous alignment of the IndyCar and F1 teams in the Thermal Club post-qualifying press conference on Saturday.
When asked about the front-row lockout, he said (via ASAP Sports):
"We're just trying to copy what they do in Formula 1. No, I think it's great. We had the pace all weekend, and we didn't quite get to show it in Practice 1. I certainly think we showed it earlier today. It's just important to be there when it counts, and we were today. Let's keep that momentum going forward."
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Lundgaard's pace was on point in both practice sessions at the new 3.067-mile circuit. This is only his second race weekend for Arrow McLaren and he was one of the favorites to secure pole position, had it not been for teammate Pato O'Ward's last-minute setup change to find the edge.
If they can convert the front-row lockout into a 1-2 double podium, it will be a perfect weekend for McLaren Racing, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris having earned 1-2 at F1's Chinese GP on Sunday.
Christian Lundgaard wants to "beat" Pato O'Ward at all costs
Christian Lundgaard signed a multi-year deal with Arrow McLaren starting with the 2025 season after three seasons racing for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. His performance with RLL, which hasn't had much success in the recent past, was impressive. The Danish driver scored three podiums, including a race win in Toronto in 2023.
Lundgaard's move to Arrow McLaren was with the prime goal of contending for race wins and championships. After the Thermal Club GP qualifying success, he spoke about the effect of having an equally fierce competitor, Pato O'Ward as his teammate.
"You want to beat your teammates. It's as simple as that," he said via ASAP Sports. "I want to beat Pato as much as he wants to beat me. It's very simple. I think it drives you to work harder, physically, mentally on track, do more for it at the end of the day and go into deeper detail. Obviously, we're studying each other's data, which in the past I've studied my own data. I have a lot more information now than I've had previously.
O'Ward and Lundgaard have their task cut out for the Thermal Club Grand Prix on Sunday. It is IndyCar's inaugural race at the California venue, with the low-grip circuit causing high tire degradation. The teams with the best strategic calls will taste the ultimate success, something that hasn't been Arrow McLaren's strongest suit in the past. The team's third driver, Nolan Siegel, starts further back in P16.
