David Malukas Out at Arrow McLaren

By David Morgan, Associate Editor

David Malukas’ career at Arrow McLaren is over before it even had a chance to truly begin.

With the 22-year-old from Chicago, Illinois still sidelined from a wrist injury sustained in a mountain biking crash before the 2024 season got underway and no timetable for his return to the seat of the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, the team announced Monday that they had released him from his contract.

Malukas is a rising star in the NTT IndyCar Series, having proved his mettle with lesser funded teams before getting his big break with Arrow McLaren, but the only laps he was ever to turn in the Papaya Orange machines would be in testing before his February crash left him on the sidelines.

“The past three months have been challenging,” said Malukas. “I felt privileged to have had the opportunity to drive for Arrow McLaren and regret that it never materialized. I would have loved to have continued representing the team and its partners going forward. They have been good, and I appreciate all they have done for me.

“I’ve done everything possible to speed up the rehab process—treatments, physiotherapy, strength training—but my recovery has taken longer than anticipated. Every injury is different, and every body heals at a different pace. I’ll turn my full attention to getting back to 100 percent and then prove that I am ready and able to compete to win.”

Since his injury, Arrow McLaren has had two drivers splitting driving duties, with Callum Illott driving in the season opener at St. Petersburg and the exhibition race at Thermal before his obligations in WEC pulled him away for Long Beach and Barber, where F2 standout Theo Pourchaire has been running in his first two career IndyCar starts.

The team did not disclose what their plan for the No. 6 seat would be, only noting those decisions will be made public in due time.

The next IndyCar Series race will be the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on May 11, followed by the 108^th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 26.