Malukas was brought in at the conclusion of the 2023 IndyCar season, signed to replace Felix Rosenqvist in the team’s No. 6 Chevrolet after the fallout from the Alex Palou contract drama.
But a mountain biking accident in February dealt injuries that led to surgery on the left wrist of Malukas, which has left him unavailable for race weekends or testing since.
Arrow McLaren has since leaned heavily on Callum Ilott, who is also contesting the FIA World Endurance Championship with Team Jota. Ilott has taken part in multiple tests with the team while also substituting for Malukas for St. Petersburg and the non-points event at The Thermal Club.
Due to a conflict with the WEC schedule, Ilott handed off the duties for Long Beach – a race Malukas was originally thought to be ready to return for – to reigning Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire.
Pourchaire said on Friday that he was contracted “to drive for the next two races, to replace David” which would also include next weekend’s round at Barber Motorsports Park. He did later backpedal to note that his role for the latter event is dependent on Malukas’ health.
In an exclusive roundtable interview on Saturday afternoon – in which only Autosport, the Associated Press, Indianapolis Star and NBC Sports were present – team chief Zak Brown and Ward provided the latest update on Malukas.
“The team has been very supportive of David, and it's been certainly an unfortunate situation,” Ward said. “More unfortunate is that his injuries are much more serious than we thought initially.
“So, a big part of our focus has been on trying to help him in every way we can on his recovery, but also, we've been spending an awful lot of time here to make sure we have competitive drivers in that No. 6 car.
“Unfortunately, it's just a lot of uncertainty right now. We've got Theo in there; he's doing a good job in difficult circumstances.”
Source: Autosport