Christian Lundgaard and Arrow McLaren had been lastly able to get some prime quality time collectively on the IndyCar Assortment testing last week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For Lundgaard, the observe day was further centered on the team-building experience — getting acclimated to the crew and group, considerably than attempting to make report lap events.
“It was a bit little little bit of a combination from a run plan standpoint of view,” Lundgaard instructed Motorsport.com. “It was good to know the way they’re working as a workers and for us to work collectively on the No. 7 automotive and get used to at least one one other. Clearly, get some further information for the month of Would possibly. So, it was start, nonetheless it is powerful, man. It’s powerful whilst you solely know one issue and swiftly you might be proper right here working in a really completely completely different method as you might be used to. Nonetheless as soon as extra, change is good.”
The 23-year-old Dane, with one career IndyCar win (Toronto, 2022) thus far, was able to pound laps throughout the recognizable papaya colors last Friday at IMS, which marked his first outing with the workers since being launched as part of the 2025 roster in early July. Nonetheless after spending the ultimate three full-time seasons with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, there was pretty a bit to get acclimated to.
Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
{Photograph} by: Phillip Abbott / Motorsport Pictures
“The automotive has further pure tempo than what I was beforehand used to,” he talked about.
“I really feel the stability has some familiarity to, as soon as extra, what I’m used to. I didn’t really anticipate the most important distinction to be in coping with. So, I really feel quite a lot of it was form of what I anticipated, which is an environment friendly issue. Nonetheless it was good to get to work with everybody. That was further of the responsibility for us was to get to essentially really feel the automotive, get to work with everybody, for all of us to find methods to work collectively and the devices that I’ve obtainable and the parents that are obtainable.”
Perhaps no change was tougher to get adjusted to on his first day, though, than what he wraps his fingers spherical throughout the cockpit, as he transitions from a Honda machine at RLL to Arrow McLaren’s Chevrolet.
“To me, attending to work with a model new steering wheel was more than likely actually the most important distinction for me,” he talked about. “That took a bit time getting used to, nonetheless it was all prime quality after that.”
Although the workers has however to confirm its engineering lineup for subsequent 12 months, it’s obligatory to note that Chris Lawrence was the one up on the timing stand working with Lundgaard. Lawrence has prolonged been embedded with Arrow McLaren, working extensively with Felix Rosenqvist, after which working with Alexander Rossi for the 2024 season.
Whereas Arrow McLaren is defending Lundgaard busy throughout the off-season, touring spherical regularly, the check out supplied last evaluation on points to work on for the following few months sooner than racing returns in March 2025.
“I might have to spend a lot of time with Chevy merely to ensure that I’m up to date on procedures,” Lundgaard talked about.
“All these completely differing types of points. The important simple points that I really feel you wouldn’t really take into accounts, that will often be muscle memory nonetheless is completely completely different on account of it is a completely completely different workers and a particular engine producer. So, the small staple objects that make sense that you just simply wish to think about, to ensure that we nail these.”
As one among 11 drivers and workers combos doing hybrid testing on the two.5-mile superspeedway, Lundgaard achieved 88 laps, with a greater of 219.566 mph. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou set the quickest mark at 224.342 mph.
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