Arrow McLaren driver Christian Lundgaard had a solid result in the first race of the 2026 IndyCar season, but admitted to being annoyed he could not get past his team-mate sooner.
Lundgaard started the race four positions behind Pato O’Ward, but found himself directly on his rear wing after the first lap.
The two slowly move forward on the same strategy, with both papaya cars sticking close to each other lap after lap.
Finally on lap 66, two thirds of the way through the race, O’Ward was momentarily blocked by Marcus Ericsson and Lundgaard made his move.
The Danish driver then broke away from his companion to that point and secured third place by time the checkered flag flew.
“Yeah, I think I was behind him [O’Ward] for a good 20 laps when I started getting annoyed of seeing the back of his car,” said Lundgaard after the race.
“Then once the pit sequence started, some of the three-stoppers were holding us up at that point, and I got around him, which was around the Ericsson part.
“Ericsson fought hard to try to keep that position. I had to fight to get by him. I had to be very aggressive to get by him, which was very nice.
“It gave me some clean air to catch up to Scottie [McLaughlin] at that point, but ultimately, I think our cars are good, and I think we will be in the hunt this year.”
Lundgaard earned six podiums last season and finished fifth in the standings, but has failed to earn a second win to add to his victory in Toronto in 2023.
His momentum as he begins his second season with Arrow McLaren appears to be stronger than ever as he gears up to tackle two tracks he has never raced.
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