Magnussen to return to McLaren fold and make IndyCar debut this weekend

Former Haas and McLaren F1 driver Kevin Magnussen is set for a return to the McLaren fold, as he will deputise for the injured Felix Rosenqvist and make his IndyCar debut this weekend.

Magnussen, who scored a podium for McLaren in the 2014 Australian GP, left Formula 1 at the end of last season and moved Stateside to compete in sports cars, while then-team mate Romain Grosjean moved to IndyCar after Haas decided to recruit rookies Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin for 2021 and beyond.

Now, Grosjean and Magnussen will race in the same field once again as regular Arrow McLaren SP IndyCar racer Felix Rosenqvist was injured in a crash at the previous round and cannot compete in this weekend’s race at Road America.

McLaren’s ties between IndyCar and F1 were strengthened ever since Fernando Alonso sported papaya in the 2017 Indy 500, before the Woking team made a full-time entry into the series in 2020 with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, even fielding their ex-F1 racer Juan Pablo Montoya at Indianapolis this season.

Moreover, Patricio O’Ward has been promised a McLaren F1 test at the end of the season after winning his maiden IndyCar race for the team.