Arrow McLaren Struggles in Barber Motorsports Park Qualifying

Christian Lundgaard, Pato O'Ward, and Nolan Siegel fail to match practice pace in disappointing qualifying session

Mar. 29, 2026 at 4:19am

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The Arrow McLaren team faced a disappointing qualifying session at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday, with Christian Lundgaard, Pato O'Ward, and Nolan Siegel all failing to match the pace they showed in practice. Lundgaard and O'Ward advanced to Round 2 of qualifying but could only manage 10th and 12th place starting positions, while Siegel will start 15th. The team is now looking to address the issues that hampered their qualifying performance ahead of Sunday's race.

Why it matters

As one of the top teams in the IndyCar series, Arrow McLaren's struggles in qualifying at Barber Motorsports Park are unexpected and will put them on the back foot heading into the race. The team will need to quickly diagnose and fix the problems that prevented them from converting their strong practice pace into top qualifying results if they want to be competitive on race day.

The details

In the second practice session, an incident involving Scott McLaughlin's car brought out a red flag and ended the session early. When qualifying began, Lundgaard and O'Ward were able to advance to Round 2, but both drivers reported issues with grip and balance that prevented them from matching their practice times. Siegel also failed to improve on his practice pace and will start 15th.

  • Practice 2 was cut short due to an incident involving Scott McLaughlin's car.
  • Qualifying took place on Saturday afternoon.
  • The race is scheduled for Sunday at 1:17 p.m. ET.

The players

Christian Lundgaard

Driver of the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet who qualified 10th.

Pato O'Ward

Driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet who qualified 12th.

Nolan Siegel

Driver of the No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet who qualified 15th.

Scott McLaughlin

Driver whose incident brought out a red flag in Practice 2.

Arrow McLaren

The IndyCar team that struggled with pace in qualifying at Barber Motorsports Park.

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What they’re saying

“Qualifying was disappointing. We had a lot more going into it than where we ended up. Overall, pace in Q1 was good; pace in Q2 was not quite there. We have some things we need to figure out. Balance wasn't really the issue, I don't think. We just lacked a bit of grip in Q2, and it felt weird, so we've got some things to figure out in our debrief and address for the race tomorrow.”

— Christian Lundgaard, Driver

“It was a very frustrating day. No explanation to what happened in Qualifying. We had the exact same reads for what happened to the 5 and the 7 car, which obviously, we need to get to the bottom of it because these days can't be happening when we feel like we have a chance for pole and are then eight tenths behind.”

— Pato O'Ward, Driver

“A little bit of a confusing Qualifying. All of us expected more pace. The car felt really good and the session was executed quite well, but the lap time didn't match the feeling. So, I'm confused, and I think that's consistent across the camp. We have some things to look into, but I'm happy with the execution of Qualifying and we'll just find some speed.”

— Nolan Siegel, Driver

What’s next

The Arrow McLaren team will need to thoroughly analyze the data from qualifying and practice to determine what caused the sudden drop in pace compared to their earlier strong showings. They will look to make the necessary adjustments to the cars ahead of Sunday's race in order to put themselves in a position to challenge for a podium finish.

The takeaway

This disappointing qualifying result for Arrow McLaren highlights the fine margins and unpredictability of IndyCar racing. The team will need to quickly diagnose and fix the issues that hampered their performance if they want to bounce back and contend for a strong race result on Sunday.