Alexander Rossi will leave Arrow McLaren at the end of the IndyCar season, being replaced by Danish driver Christian Lundgaard.
Rossi is suffering a difficult season by his lofty standards at McLaren, sitting ninth in the standings with a best finish of third place at Laguna Seca.
The American hasn’t won an IndyCar race since the Gallagher Grand Prix on the IMS road course in 2022 and consistently failed to match his teammates this year, particularly Pato O’Ward.
Despite a lacklustre campaign, people close to Rossi are optimistic that he can secure a drive in IndyCar next year with a new team.
Alexander Rossi’s manager says ‘we’re getting close’ to an IndyCar drive for 2025
Rossi’s dad and manager, Pieter Rossi, is optimistic that his son can slot into a new team for next season after his time at Arrow McLaren ends after only two seasons.
Multiple teams have vacancies for 2025, including the incoming PREMA team, which has been hugely successful in junior racing below Formula 1, Juncos Hollinger Racing, and others.
Rossi is adamant that his son has more than one option and they have been talking to multiple teams over the seasons.
He told RACER: “I think we’re getting close. There’s a lot of moving parts. There’s multiple landing spots. It’s not bleak.
“There’s been discussions with JHR, PREMA, ECR, Ganassi, MSR and one other,” Rossi said. “Obviously, they’re all at different stages. Yeah, money’s the topic. It’s not just, ‘Do they want Alex?’ They do. But can they? Will they? The budget’s all over the map, from top dollar to ‘we got no money.’
Alexander Rossi’s manager ruled out Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing
Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing have been operating at an extremely high level for several years, winning multiple championships.
Chip Ganassi Racing are battling for the Drivers’ Championship with Alex Palou who has won two of the past three titles.
Both teams have drivers within their ranks who are towards the end of their careers – Will Power and Scott Dixon, who have multiple championships but are over 40 years old.
According to his manager, despite the ageing nature of some drivers at the peak of IndyCar, Rossi is unlikely to drive for either of those outfits in 2025.
He said: “He knows that IndyCar is hard to win a race in unless you’ve got all the pieces each weekend, which there’s two teams that do and the rest kind of fall in once in a while.
“And is he going to be with one of those two teams? No. Those two teams? I can tell you that Penske and Ganassi, no. But he does have longevity left in IndyCar, and there is value to a veteran driver that has a lot of experience that can help a team take the next step. Then it’s finding the way to pay for it.”
Rossi also reiterated that talks are ongoing, and the team are working to find the required budget ahead of the new season.
He said: “Discussions are very active now, and we’re trying to get there now, it’s just trying to figure out the money.”