Mclaren Racing Acquires Exclusive Ownership Of Indycar Program

The news comes after McLaren Racing purchased its remaining shareholding from Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson

McLaren Racing has announced sole ownership of Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team, which entered into effect on December 31, 2024. The entire acquisition by McLaren Racing comes following the last part of its takeover from Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson.

The team that was initially run under the Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports brand was converted to Arrow McLaren SP in 2020, after McLaren purchased a 75% share in the IndyCar program in 2021. The name transitioned to Arrow McLaren in 2023, with Schmidt and Peterson staying active in a minority ownership position throughout that period and up to the finish of 2024.

Zak Brown, the CEO of McLaren Racing, highlighted the necessity of growing and deeper establishing the business with the takeover of the program in North America’s top open-wheel championship.

“This is an exciting step for McLaren Racing as we grow and strengthen our presence in North America, which is a very important market for our team and our fans,” added Brown. “Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson have been great partners and co-owners, and I want to thank them as we continue to build what they started many years ago, and that is a championship caliber NTT IndyCar Series team.”

The bottom floor of the firm was created as Sam Schmidt Motorsports in 2001, scoring a breakthrough podium courtesy of Jaques Lazier at Nashville Superspeedway. It thereafter became a sole appearance in the Indianapolis 500 from 2003-10. A comeback to full-time racing occured in 2011 with Alex Tagliani. The late Dan Wheldon also drove his final race with the squad the same year.

Under the Schmidt-Hamilton branding, in cooperation with former driver Davey Hamilton, the team grabbed a brilliant young Frenchman named Simon Pagenaud and went on to record a remarkable season in 2012 that featured three podiums en way to sixth in the championship standings. The next year saw the entry of Peterson as part of the club ownership; Pagenaud earned the organization’s first win in the second act of a Detroit doubleheader before winning again at Baltimore later that same season and climbing to third in the championship.

The organization formally renamed Schmidt-Peterson in 2015, with Pagenaud winning three more times before leaving to Team Penske the following year.

The 2016 season saw James Hinchcliffe produce a victory in a rain-impacted race at NOLA Motorsports Park. Hinchcliffe won two more times for the organization: Long Beach (2017) and Iowa Speedway (2018). Arrow Electronics became an official partner of the team in 2019.

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“Stepping away from my ownership role with Arrow McLaren is bittersweet,” remarked Schmidt. “This team has been my life’s work, growing from a dream into a competitor at the highest level. I’m enormously thankful to the drivers, team personnel, partners and fans who made it all possible, and to McLaren for enhancing the team’s potential. While I’m stepping aside from ownership, my heart will always be with this club, and I’ll be rooting for its ongoing success every step of the way.”

Peterson continued, “Since I joined Sam as co-owner in 2013, it’s been rewarding to see this team evolve. We welcomed Arrow as championship partner in 2019, we joined forces with McLaren in 2021, we became a three-car NTT IndyCar Series team in 2023, and we celebrated many poles, podiums and wins in Indy Lights and IndyCar over those years. This team has a good basis for success, and Sam and I are happy of where we leave it.”

“Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson have been great partners and co-owners, and I want to thank them as we continue to build what they started many years ago, and that is a championship-caliber NTT IndyCar Series team.”

“Stepping away from my ownership role with Arrow McLaren is bittersweet,” Schmidt remarked. “This team has been my life’s work, growing from a dream into a competitor at the highest level.

“I’m endlessly grateful to the drivers, team members, partners and fans who made it all possible and to McLaren for elevating the team’s potential. While I’m stepping aside from ownership, my heart will always be with this club, and I’ll be rooting for its ongoing success every step of the way.”