Arrow McLaren Team Principal, Tony Kanaan, utilizing Ryan Hunter-Reay’s racing “experience” after signing Hunter-Reay for the 2026 Indy 500.
Arrow McLaren announced that Ryan Hunter-Reay will hop into the team’s fourth car for the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Thursday. Team Principal, Tony Kanaan, reminisced on the “chemistry” he had with Hunter-Reay as Andretti teammates.
Kanaan noted on their shared history with Pit Debrief and other media on Thursday, saying, “Obviously we were only teammates for a year, but the chemistry that we had that year was actually awesome. My departure from Andretti in the year kept that, I think, chemistry that we had. We worked really, really well together.“
“To be fair as far as setup-wise, he was the closest teammate I had to run something similar. But over the years we’ve still kept being friends. Our families are friends, my wife and kids. Fast-forward, the first time I called him, I said, Would you ever imagine that I would have a possibility to actually be your boss? He laughed.“
More chances for an Indy 500 win
In Kanaan’s current role as Arrow McLaren’s Team Principal, the Brazilian hopes to build the best team to fight for an Indy 500 win and IndyCar Championship. With adding a fourth Arrow McLaren Indy 500 entry every year, Kanaan notes that it is “another chance to win the 500” for the team.
“When it came about, what we’re trying to build here at Arrow McLaren since I’ve been here is to grow the team as far as winning the Indy 500, winning the championship, all the things that every team will set a goal at the beginning of the year.
“To me, the fourth car, if you look at the history of this fourth car, especially with the past driver we had, which was Kyle Larson, it’s an understatement to overcome even a figure that big, it’s going to be big news. The intention of running that car since before me, because if you look at Montoya who ran that before, is to have another chance to win the 500.“
Needing a winner
Kanaan “needed a winner” for that fourth seat to achieve the team’s goals. Even though Kanaan is an Indy 500 winner and series champion, he is “not coming back” to the cockpit. With his role set as Team Principal, Kanaan knew the winner he needed was Hunter-Reay.
Kanaan continued, “I think both of us came from a four-car team that put all the efforts on that. I landed at this place because of that in ’23, if you guys remember. To me it was like I need a winner. I need a guy that is going to be able to win the Indy 500. There is not many guys that are available right now.
“I told people that if they mentioned me one more time, I was going to fire whoever is saying that, because I’m not coming back. It’s been very confusing for me. I called Ryan, and I will let him talk about the details, but I called him. I said, Hey, it’s you and I. We are going to negotiate, you and I, and we have three days to do it. And we made it happen.“
Zak Brown’s involvement
CEO of McLaren Racing, Zak Brown, had a part on who got the fourth Indy 500 seat. With other’s on the list for this seat, Kanaan knew he had to fight for Hunter-Reay.
When asked about other’s considered for this seat, Kanaan responded, “I mean, it started, obviously you have to explore, because I didn’t even know if he was available. He was there at Dreyer & Reinbold for a few years. Yeah, we had a list, but to me — also, Zak is a big part of this, and Zak is extremely hands-on.”
Even though there were more people considered for the that seat, Hunter-Reay was Kanaan’s “number one name.” At the end of the day, Brown trusted Kanaan’s intuition and gave the go ahead to sign Hunter-Reay.
“The beauty between Zak and I, we’re both racers, we both think the same way. When he asks my opinion, my number one name was [Hunter-Reay], but because the people that are available, I cannot say, ‘oh, I want’, you know, because people are on the contract.
“There was more people on the list, but I said, if I can get him. And typical Zak says, Well, make it happen. Do you need my help? I’m, like, ‘No, boss, let me try to handle’. Obviously it landed pretty well.“
Hunter-Reay’s contributions
Although Hunter-Reay is only racing in the Indy 500 for Arrow McLaren, Kanaan noted the 2014 Indy 500 winner “doesn’t want to be a one-off.” With his years of experience, Hunter-Reay will be “a huge advantage” for Kanaan, the team, and Arrow McLaren’s full-time drivers.
When asked about Hunter-Reay’s full season role, Kanaan answered, “Look, when we orchestrate this deal, I want Ryan to be part of the team. He wants to be part of the team. He doesn’t want to be a one-off. He is part of Arrow McLaren. He will be extremely involved. I’m going to lean on him. I think it’s a huge advantage that we have him around with his experience, especially for our drivers. So the answer is yes.“
Even though Hunter-Reay lives in Florida full-time, Kanaan will keep the Arrow McLaren Headquarters in Indianapolis doors open for the American. Kanaan continued, “The plan is being laid out. But he just asked me before we went on, he said, When do you think I need to come back? I said, This is your house. You come back whenever you want. Obviously, he lives in Florida. He’s going to pick to come here after February, for sure. I wouldn’t come here in the winter.“
Defining Hunter-Reay’s role
Kanaan noted that Hunter-Reay will be a full team member of Arrow McLaren. With his role still being defined with the team, Kanaan promised Hunter-Reay is “going to be contributing in everything“.
“We’ll be leaning on him, and I will use him quite a bit. And that’s what he wants. He wants to contribute. That’s what I did when I joined this team at his position. The answer is he’s going to be contributing in everything, but I cannot really set a plan right now, because it’s still developing, but we’re debriefing and talking about stuff.“
