Tony Kanaan sets big "addicting" goal for Arrow McLaren 1 week into new role

IndyCar team Arrow McLaren recently promoted Tony Kanaan to Team Principal to usher in a new era for the team. With the 2025 season nearly upon us, the 2013 Indy 500 winner is wasting no time in restructuring the team's game and mentality.

Compared to his predecessor Gavin Ward, who came from a technical background, Kanaan is a pure racer. The Brazilian drove in the topmost category of American open-wheel racing for over 25 years before retiring in 2023, with the 107th Indy 500 as his last race.

Tony Kanaan won 17 races during that time and the 2004 IndyCar championship, cementing him as one of the series greats. The 50-year-old now wants to replicate the same success and more as Team Principal of Arrow McLaren.

"All I care about is we’re going to win races," Kanaan said via Indy Star. "When we do that, some people don’t realize how good that is & how addicting that is, and that’s when you start to have people clicking and buying in."

Pato O'Ward was Arrow McLaren's best-performing driver in 2024. He scored a series-high three victories and finished fifth in the championship standings, while his full-time teammate Alexander Rossi secured 10th place with no wins.

O'Ward was the only consistent cog in the wheel for the British team, which had a revolving door for drivers in its third car. Rookie Nolan Siegel was finally locked in on a multi-year deal for the No. 6 car, on the recommendation of Kanaan, who was the sporting director then.

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Tony Kanaan puts teamwork above fast cars in the new Arrow McLaren era

AUTO: AUG 17 NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 - Source: Getty

Arrow McLaren came all guns blazing at the two-day IndyCar preseason test at Sebring on February 17-18. Though the testing times aren't a final indication of every team's true pace, Pato O'Ward was the fastest driver on day 1, and emerged third-fastest overall at the end of day 2.

Nolan Siegel wasn't far away, finishing sixth-fastest after completing 108 laps over two days. The team's newest driver Christian Lundgaard, who departed Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing after the 2024 season, was a bit farther in 15th-place (14th-place if Marcus Armstrong's double entry while subbing for teammate Felix Rosenqvist is discounted).

Tony Kanaan, who hadn't been announced as the Team Principal then, and still held the deputy TP title, was more focussed on getting the team gelling well and streamlining its processes than the car pace.

"The cars were fast, but the most important thing was our preparation and our ability to work together," he said via Arrow McLaren.

Tony Kanaan & Co. will kick off their 2025 IndyCar season with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 2. The team kicked off its 2024 season with Pato O'Ward taking the victory at St. Pete (original winner Josef Newgarden was disqualified for a technical infringement), and the expectations will be high again this time around.