![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/300604.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDixon will depart Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of this year to join McLaren in 2027 where he will join O\u2019Ward.<\/p>\n
They will be joined by this year\u2019s Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist, who returns to McLaren after a three-year stint at Meyer Shank Racing.<\/p>\n
Despite having the greatest record of any driver on the IndyCar grid, reaction to Dixon\u2019s signing has been mixed.<\/p>\n
Dixon and Rosenqvist, who are 45 and 34 respectively, will replace 24-year-old Christian Lundgaard and 21-year-old Nolan Siegel.<\/p>\n
Siegel\u2019s axing is no great shock given his disparity relative to O\u2019Ward and Lundgaard, but the decision to dump Lundgaard has stunned IndyCar fans.<\/p>\n
Lundgaard has been the closest to matching four-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou with as many podiums as the Spaniard this season.<\/p>\n
However, the Danish driver has been let down by his oval performances, finishing no higher than 10th in the three races to date this year.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s been a sticking point for McLaren, who decided that the Indianapolis 500 wins that Dixon and Rosenqvist bring to the table outweigh Lundgaard\u2019s overall upwards progression.<\/p>\n
![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Christian-Lundgaard-and-Scott-Dixon-Indianapolis-500-Practice-By_-James-Black_Large-Image-Without-Wa.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Christian Lundgaard (left) and Scott Dixon pictured together during practice for the 2023 Indianapolis 500. Image: James Black<\/p>\n
Speaking during this week\u2019s IndyCar test at Milwaukee, O\u2019Ward said he was disappointed by the public\u2019s reaction to Dixon\u2019s signing.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be fair, I don\u2019t think anybody has missed what\u2019s been said the last few days, and I\u2019ve been shocked at the disrespect that he\u2019s received,\u201d said O\u2019Ward.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he maybe hasn\u2019t had some of the best years the last couple, but guys like him don\u2019t forget how to drive. The cycle of racing goes up and down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like for someone like him to make a change after so many years somewhere and to receive some of the backlash that he\u2019s received, I really hope when he joins he has a great run for a championship and wins many races.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dixon last won the IndyCar title in 2020. Since then, it\u2019s been largely Palou\u2019s show, winning four of the last five with the exception of 2022, which was won by Will Power.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Ward said Dixon deserves to be respected for his achievements despite his lean run of results lately.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has achieved way more than a lot of other drivers have ever achieved ever in IndyCar. For people to talk down somebody like that really is a shame,\u201d said O\u2019Ward.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalk down on me as much as you want. Like, I don\u2019t care. But to talk down on somebody like Scott Dixon\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes I really do feel like I wish people felt shame a little bit more because to disrespect somebody from that calibre and that level it erases any decency of what an athlete goes through.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou won\u2019t always be winning races and winning every championship every year. You will always go through cycles. I truly believe he\u2019s going to be such a great addition to this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
IndyCar continues at Nashville on July 20 (AEST).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scott Dixon drives for Chip Ganassi Racing. Image: Chris Owens Dixon will depart Chip Ganassi Racing at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517083,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,139416,127693,9335,213],"class_list":["post-517082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-pato-oward","tag-scott-dixon","tag-slot2","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"IndyCar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Scott-Dixon-Sonsio-Grand-Prix-Indianapolis-Grand-Prix-By_-Chris-Owens_Large-Image-Without-Watermark_.jpeg\")