Tony Kanaan reveals McLaren F1 shares crucial data with its IndyCar sister team "24 Hours a Day"

Tony Kanaan, the new Team Principal of McLaren Racing's IndyCar team, Arrow McLaren, has revealed the extent to which they exchange information with its F1 sister team. F1 is more technologically advanced than IndyCar and teams have more leeway to construct their own cars, which America's top open-wheel racing series doesn't have, owing to it being a spec series.

Kanaan, who joined Arrow McLaren in 2023 to compete in his final Indy 500, also the final career race of his career, has been with the team in various roles since. Before the 2025 IndyCar season began, he was promoted to Team Principal, his sixth role with the team.

After witnessing McLaren's F1 team win the constructors' championship in 2024, Kanaan congratulated them and declared that he would borrow the good luck for Arrow McLaren to win the IndyCar championship in 2025.

AUTO: MAY 26 NTT IndyCar Series 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

In a recent interview, the 2013 Indy 500 winner was asked if the two teams exchanged information. "Same company," he replied, implying the affirmative. When further asked if there was any technical exchange, Tony Kanaan replied:

"24 hours a day. (We exchange) software, fuel software, simulator... car simulator for the drivers, and engineering. There are many things that we have in a regulation, armored. But (because) they (F1) have an open regulation, we use experience and manufacture of some parts that they do it in two days. Here we don't manufacture anything because Indy has more limitations. You purchase from the company that sells the parts, and the things you make, it is not worth having machines to manufacture. For example, three anti-roll bars - we import those and we are lucky to have the guys in Europe who send us what we need."

McLaren's F1 constructors' win came 26 years after its last title in 1998. Lando Norris led the Woking-based team's campaign with 374 points in 23 races, finishing runner-up to Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship. Oscar Piastri, who recently renewed his McLaren contract, played a supporting role to help them cross the line.

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Tony Kanaan described the "obsession of winning" that unifies him with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown

Zak Brown at the F1 Grand Prix Of Australia - Previews - Source: Getty

Tony Kanaan has known now-McLaren CEO Zak Brown for three decades. In 2024, the Brazilian racer revealed how he blindly trusted Brown and as a result, worked in any role in his ongoing time with the team. Hence, explains why he has worn so many hats in less than two years working for Arrow McLaren.

In his recent appearance on the Pit Pass Indy podcast, when reporter Bruce Martin asked him about his relationship with Brown and working under him, Kanaan explained the racer mentality they share.

"I think you gotta be a racer to be able to lead a team or a group because the obsession of winning... it's not just the winning. To me, the fear of losing is bigger than everything, and that's why you want to win at any cost. And Zak is like that. To me, it's just managing the pressure and how much the expectations that everybody has put on us," Tony Kanaan said.

Tony Kanaan got Arrow McLaren off to a decent start at IndyCar's season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Experienced driver Pato O'Ward recovered from a horrible qualifying to gain 12 places in the race and finish in P11. Though Christian Lundgaard dropped three places in the race, he finished in a respectable P8. The team's third driver, Nolan Siegel, was the victim of an unfortunate crash, that ruled him out of the race in Lap 1.