New Arrow McLaren driver David Malukas sustained a broken hand in a mountain biking incident over the past weekend. The third-year NTT IndyCar Series driver, who will take charge of the No. 6 Chevy, is scheduled to undergo surgery on Tuesday.
The outcome of the procedure and the duration of recovery will determine whether the driver from Illinois will be able to participate in the season opener in St. Petersburg from March 8-10, or if the team will need to find a replacement driver for the event.
While the time gap of approximately one month between the surgery and the need for Malukas to drive in St. Pete is encouraging, there is a more immediate concern for the 22-year-old. The tests for all drivers with the new-for-2024 hybrid chassis package are set to take place on February 26-27 at Sebring, and Malukas would ideally want to be a part of them. However, this would mean participating in the tests just two weeks after the surgery.
Most drivers had the opportunity to experience the lighter chassis configuration in January at the Homestead-Miami roval, which does not include the energy recovery system that IndyCar plans to introduce in the summer. However, the dedicated two-day test at Sebring, without the ERS package, better simulates a street course like St. Petersburg, and missing out on it is not something a driver would desire.
Arrow McLaren will make a decision regarding the need for a substitute driver for Malukas based on the recovery forecast and the test results. Among the potential candidates, it is expected that former Andretti Global IndyCar driver and Arrow McLaren reserve driver Zach Veach will be considered.
According to the Source racer.com