Nolan Siegel has issued a public apology following an explosive radio rant during last weekend’s IndyCar race at World Wide Technology Raceway. This prompted Arrow McLaren to release an official statement distancing itself from the incident.
The 20-year-old American driver unleashed a furious tirade of expletives over team radio after receiving a drive-through penalty for blocking Penske driver Scott McLaughlin. The incident occurred against the backdrop of previous tensions between the two drivers from the Detroit round, where McLaughlin had collided with Siegel from behind, forcing the McLaren driver into retirement.
The radio outburst
Siegel’s frustration boiled over in a profanity-strewn outburst, which was broadcasted live due to his car’s onboard camera being streamed at the time.
The driver fumed: “Bull****. F****** bull****. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. He f****** takes me out at the last race and gets to f****** continue? No. F*** that s***. Tell Penske to go f*** themselves. I want you to talk to them about that penalty. That’s f****** bull****.”
Siegel’s apology
On Wednesday, Nolan Siegel took to social media to address the incident directly. He posted a video apology that acknowledged his mistake whilst providing context for his emotional state.
“What happened on Sunday, I had an outburst on the radio that should not have happened,” Siegel said in his video statement. “So I just want to apologise to everyone at Arrow McLaren, everyone on the 6 car, all of our partners, all of our fans that are here to support us.“
“And that was not a proud moment for me. It’s something I regret, and it was a mistake. I have a lot of respect for Scott, for Team Penske, for everyone at IndyCar that are doing their jobs to the best of their ability and doing a really good job.”
“And, yeah, it’s a pressure cooker in IndyCar. It’s an extremely stressful situation. It was frustrating, and I let that get to me when I shouldn’t have.”
Siegel continued, “I’m human. I make mistakes.”
“I made a mistake, and unfortunately, in a series like IndyCar, we’re on a big stage, and that happened to be on live TV, and it’s not something I’m proud of.
He finished, saying, “I think we all make mistakes. I made one on Sunday, and I’m going to learn from it, and I’m going to move forward.”
Arrow McLaren’s response
Arrow McLaren moved swiftly to address the situation. They released a comprehensive statement that emphasised the team’s values whilst making clear that Siegel’s behaviour was unacceptable.
“At Arrow McLaren, we hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism, respect and sportsmanship – on and off the track. The language expressed over our radio during this past race weekend does not reflect who we are as a team.”
“We do not condone that behaviour. We’ve addressed it directly with Nolan, and he is taking responsibility for his actions. Accountability is a core value at Arrow McLaren, and we expect every team member to represent our partners, fans and organisation with integrity.”
“Additionally, we expect our fans and online community to act with respect and civility, and we will not tolerate hate, abuse or discrimination within our social media platforms. It is vital that we collectively maintain a safe and welcoming community for all involved.”
