McLaren has announced that it has ended its partnership with David Malukas in IndyCar - without him having ever driven for the team.
Malukas is seen as a rising star of IndyCar and following impressive performances for Dale Coyne Racing, earned a seat with McLaren for 2024 alongside Pato O'Ward and Alexander Rossi following the departure of Felix Rosenqvist.
However, in February, Malukas suffered a wrist injury whilst mountain biking which required surgery, and he has since been unable to compete while he recovers.
In his place, Callum Ilott piloted the #6 at St Petersburg and the Thermal exhibition race before reigning F2 champion Theo Pourchaire took over for Long Beach and Barber - with each taking a best result of 11th.
After round four at Barber, McLaren has released Malukas "due to him being unavailable for the entirety of the season to date, with no confirmed return date, as a result of a left wrist injury, which occurred February 11, in a mountain biking incident."
The team does not yet have a replacement in mind for Malukas, and will "finalise its driver assignments for the remainder of the 2024 season in due course."
Malukas conceded that "the past three months have been challenging" and that he "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," he continued.
"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% and then prove that I am ready and able to compete to win."
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