Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson have departed the Arrow McLaren group after McLaren Racing accomplished its buyout of the NTT IndyCar Sequence outfit.
The completion of the acquisition follows McLaren’s 75-percent acquisition of the group in 2021. The group was based by Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports and added Peterson as co-owner in 2013 beneath the Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports banner, which included former Schmidt driver Davey Hamilton who introduced sponsorship from Hewlett-Packard.
Rebranded as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2014 with Schmidt, the previous Indy Racing League driver and Peterson, the Canadian transportation magnate, answerable for the enterprise, the duo progressively ceded their each day oversight of the group after McLaren entered the image and shifted the title from Arrow McLaren SP to Arrow McLaren in 2023.
With the group he constructed as the primary main endeavor after struggling a life-altering crash in IndyCar testing now wholly owned by McLaren, Schmidt exits with combined emotions.
“Stepping away from my possession position with Arrow McLaren is bittersweet,” he stated. “This group has been my life’s work, rising from a dream right into a competitor on the highest degree. I’m endlessly grateful to the drivers, group members, companions and followers who made all of it attainable, and to McLaren for elevating the group’s potential. Whereas I’m stepping again from possession, my coronary heart will all the time be with this group, and I’ll be cheering for its continued success each step of the way in which.”
Peterson added, “Since I joined Sam as co-owner in 2013, it’s been rewarding to see this group evolve. We welcomed Arrow as title companion in 2019, we joined forces with McLaren in 2021, we turned a three-car NTT IndyCar Sequence group in 2023, and we celebrated many poles, podiums and wins in Indy Lights and IndyCar all through these years. This group has a robust basis for achievement, and Sam and I are happy with the place we depart it.”
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown lately appointed IndyCar champion and Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan as group principal to steer Arrow McLaren into the longer term.
“That is an thrilling step for McLaren Racing as we develop and strengthen our presence in North America, which is a vital marketplace for our group and our followers,” Brown stated. “Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson have been nice companions and co-owners, and I need to thank them as we proceed to construct what they began a few years in the past, and that could be a championship caliber NTT IndyCar Sequence group.”
