Between Taylor Swift and the duo of Zak Brown and Tony Kanaan, you'd have a hard time deciphering who has been at the center of more bad breakups.
But while Swift got married on Independence Day Weekend, Arrow McLaren confirmed yet another unexpected divorce to add to an already long list of head-scratchers, cutting ties with Christian Lundgaard the same day as they confirmed the expected departure of Nolan Siegel.
In the pits at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course two weekends ago, a young fan spotted Nolan Siegel approaching and asked for an autograph and a picture. The fan shouted "Lundgaard!", to which Siegel replied, "close enough!", before pausing to take a photo and give him his autograph.
Apparently he was right in more ways than one, because Lundgaard, despite being third in the standings with two wins, actually got a shorter leash than Siegel, whose current 20th place in the standings is a career-high – and who has just two 10th place finishes all year.
Lundgaard is probably the best pending free agent IndyCar in decades when it comes to those willingly kicked to the curb by their teams.
While the signings of Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist, in and of themselves, are hard to argue against, the fact is that Dixon has been in IndyCar since before Lundgaard was born, and Rosenqvist's win drought before winning this year's Indy 500 is an all-time record for any Indy 500 winner.
But Tony Kanaan thinks he knows what he's doing, and while he was totally wrong about Siegel (and, for what it's worth, did not lose his job over it like he said he would), it's anybody's guess as to whether or not he'll be able to eventually say "I told you so" about the latest shakeup.
Lundgaard, of course, will be hoping to do the same, and now that he's actually allowed to negotiate with other race teams, after being chucked to the cold, hard ground, don't expect him to be faced with any shortage of offers.
Where might he end up? Here are three possibilities.
Chip Ganassi Racing
This is the obvious one. With Dixon out, Chip Ganassi Racing has a premier vacancy to fill, and Lundgaard is undoubtedly the top candidate to fill it.
One of the reasons why McLaren were so quick to discard Lundgaard's services is evidently the fact that he's not at Pato O'Ward's level on ovals. But imagine if Chip Ganassi Racing had cut Alex Palou after two seasons because he didn't win on an oval. Or three seasons. Or four seasons. He surely wouldn't be the 2025 Indy 500 champion or the 2025 series oval champion.
Pair Lundgaard with Mike Hull, and allow Palou to play the Dixon-like role that Dixon has played for Palou over the past six seasons, and see what happens. Something tells me Chip Ganassi's last laugh(s) over Zak Brown, when he successfully retained Palou (twice), might not actually be his last laughs.
Meyer Shank Racing
While Lundgaard is the obvious choice, some might argue it's too easy for Ganassi. Maybe they have their eyes on Caio Collet, who has emerged as a hot silly season commodity. Or perhaps it's Rinus VeeKay, who always seems to be the bridesmaid, but never the bride, when top-tier openings emerge.
Or perhaps Ganassi strikes back at Brown and company by snatching up McLaren Formula 1 reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli, who is also said to be on more than one IndyCar short list after winning the 2025 Formula 2 title.
Lundgaard slotting into Meyer Shank Racing as Rosenqvist's replacement would also make sense, given the continued ascension of the team up the ranks and their ongoing technical alliance with Chip Ganassi Racing, which has undoubtedly made both sides better.
The only issue here could be the fact that Lundgaard has proven himself to be a lead driver, and Meyer Shank Racing have already effectively committed to Marcus Armstrong to take on that role by moving him into Rosenqvist's car and extending his contract. Of course, it's effectively just a number change; for all intents and purposes, it could be trivial.
Andretti Global
For a while now, it's felt like Marcus Ericsson's contract would not be renewed by Andretti Global, and when Rosenqvist's Meyer Shank Racing departure was announced, this felt like the obvious landing spot.
But with Rosenqvist and Armstrong both out of the picture to replace Ericsson, and rookie Dennis Hauger, who remains under contract with Andretti Global despite competing for Dale Coyne Racing, seemingly not being rushed by the top team, the Ericsson decision could simply come down to whether there truly is a clear upgrade available.
If for some reason Lundgaard remains available, it would be a challenge to see Andretti Global pass him up over Ericsson, whose contract they seemingly had no intention of extending to begin with.
While they may not be on Chip Ganassi Racing's level, and they haven't won a championship since 2012 or an Indy 500 since 2017, Kyle Kirkwood's season, which sees him second in points, Will Power's speed, despite lackluster results, and Ericsson's resurgence illustrate that this would not be a bad destination for a driver of Lundgaard's caliber.
