{"id":854702,"date":"2025-06-10T19:13:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T00:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/10\/christian-lundgaard-on-the-indy-500-what-a-perfect-lap-feels-like-and-more\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T19:13:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T00:13:00","slug":"christian-lundgaard-on-the-indy-500-what-a-perfect-lap-feels-like-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/10\/christian-lundgaard-on-the-indy-500-what-a-perfect-lap-feels-like-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian Lundgaard on the Indy 500, what a perfect lap feels like, and more"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Sunday when the cars roll off the line for the start of the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500, Arrow McLaren driver Christian Lundgaard will be in somewhat unfamiliar territory.<\/p>\n

Starting inside the Top 10 at the biggest spectacle in motorsports.<\/p>\n

After three seasons spent sweating out whether he would even make it into the field, Lundgaard was one of the fastest 12 cars during the Full-Field Qualifying session, Lundgaard was in the Fast 12 for the first time in his IndyCar career. <\/p>\n

After what he called a \u201cstressful\u201d Saturday, that experience of his first Fast 12 was to him, the \u201cleast stressful\u201d day of the weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like the Fast 12 was the least stressful day,\u201d Lundgaard explained to me when I asked him about the experience.<\/p>\n

The reason? Saturday\u2019s qualifying session at the Indianapolis 500 is as stressful as it gets in the sport. Lundgaard began by highlighting accidents that happened earlier in the day, first with Marcus Armstrong in practice and then with Colton Herta during his first qualifying run, outlining just how quickly it can go wrong for you, and your entire team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Saturday qualifying is much, much more stressful, and I think we see it for the reason of what happened to Colton, and Marcus Armstrong. The amount of work that goes into this one car just for the 500 from the team\u2019s perspective, it\u2019s a year\u2019s worth of preparation that goes in, that can be ruined in a split second,\u201d described Lundgaard.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then you suddenly have to rebuild a car that is not going to have all the items, like all the speedway fun, special items that go on the car and all the small little tweaks and fine-tuning. And you crash in your first run in qualifying, and then you\u2019re watching everybody else go out there and put laps and speeds on the chart, and you\u2019re just waiting and hoping that you actually will just go out again, and you don\u2019t know what the car is going to feel like. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously for me that wasn\u2019t the case. Touch some wood, hopefully it doesn\u2019t, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was at that moment Lundgaard leaned forward and knocked on the table in front of him, emphasizing the point. <\/p>\n

The stress picked up a notch at the end of the Full-Field Qualifying. Conor Daly took to the track for the final run of the day, with Lundgaard sitting in P12. One good run from Daly would have knocked Lundgaard out of the Fast 12, leaving him on the outside looking in on Sunday. <\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like that was very stressful because Conor\u2019s last run, the last run of the day, he was on track to beat us. And he made a mistake in 1 and 2 that cost him,\u201d added Lundgaard. \u201cI didn\u2019t know how to react because this is not a situation that I\u2019ve been in. I\u2019ve been in something very similar, but that was fighting to just be in the race, you know, like at least now I had the peace of mind knowing that I was in the race regardless. And it\u2019s stressful. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s … it\u2019s not fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundgaard even woke up feeling stressed Saturday morning. <\/p>\n

\u201cWaking up Saturday morning, I was kind of just shaky, in a sense, because I felt like I was much more nervous this year than I\u2019d been prior, just because I felt like I at least had a chance to do something, where prior I don\u2019t even know if I\u2019m going to be in the race. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo that was definitely a different kind of feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is the stress of the world\u2019s biggest sporting event, and what it can do to the drivers who are putting it all on the line every lap.<\/p>\n

SB Nation <\/em>caught up with Lundgaard ahead of the 109th Indianapolis 500 to talk about his first year at Arrow McLaren, what it takes to get it right at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and his chances in the 500. <\/p>\n

His Indianapolis 500 so far<\/h2>\n

Lundgaard told me it had been a \u201cgood month\u201d in Indianapolis so far. In addition to qualifying eighth for the 109th Indianapolis 500, he also finished second in the race at Barber in Alabama to open the month, his third consecutive podium finish. <\/p>\n

Still, as he reminded me, every day at IMS can be different, and even the good months have their share of ups and downs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a good, good month so far. I think there\u2019s been ups and downs for sure. I think that\u2019s the story every year you come to the Speedway. You have a good day, you have a bad day,\u201d said Lundgaard.<\/p>\n

What has made this year a more pleasant experience for him, is the fact that he has a chance to be in the fight on Sunday. In his first three Indianapolis 500 experiences, his best starting place was P28, and his best finish was 13th.<\/p>\n

Both of those results came last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a much more pleasant and fun experience this year than what I have been a part of prior, and I get to enjoy it much more. You don\u2019t really enjoy showing up for a race weekend, as big as this is \u2014 it\u2019s more than just a weekend \u2014 you\u2019re not enjoying it if you\u2019re not in the fight,\u201d described the Arrow McLaren driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re just fighting to be in the race, it\u2019s just more stressful than anything else. And I definitely have felt like I\u2019ve experienced a different kind of stress, and just how different it is fighting for, I wouldn\u2019t really go to the extent of saying fighting for pole, but at least fighting for the front end of the field, and making sure that you\u2019re well positioned for the start of the race,\u201d added Lundgaard. \u201cIt\u2019s, just been a much more pleasant experience and the team\u2019s done an awesome job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundgaard credited his team with helping him get a better understanding of the No. 7, as well as the track itself. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s helping me to understand how to drive this car, but also, doing it on the go, feeling what\u2019s so different from the prior muscle memories and all my other experiences,\u201d added Lundgaard.<\/p>\n

All of this adds up to him and the team having a chance on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously having a car in the front row [Pato O\u2019Ward, who starts third], we\u2019re eighth, and then Kyle [Larson] and Nolan [Siegel] a little further back, but I feel like we\u2019ve done a tremendous job and the cars are fast and very trim and we\u2019re in it, so we do have a chance to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting it right at IMS<\/h2>\n

Having a chance to win the Indianapolis 500 is one thing.<\/p>\n

Getting it all right, even just over one lap at IMS, is another.<\/p>\n

Every driver I\u2019ve talked to has discussed at length how tough it is just to get one lap right at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But getting all the laps right over all the time the drivers have in the cars before the race itself begins?<\/p>\n

That is almost impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t,\u201d replied Lundgaard when I asked him how hard it is to balance all the time they have in the cars before the race. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s what\u2019s so tough. You have so much time in the car and it\u2019s almost too much, right? It\u2019s very easy to get lost,\u201d added the driver. \u201cIt\u2019s very easy to go down the wrong path because the weather changes, the conditions change, the car feels really good in cold conditions, and it feels terrible in hot conditions or vice versa, and it\u2019s kind of finding that balance of what does the car need for certain conditions from to keep that feel that you have, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Then comes balancing the different sessions. When the drivers arrive in Indianapolis ahead of the 500, the early focus is on the race pace. But then as qualifying approaches, the focus turns to preparing for the four-lap runs where speed is everything.<\/p>\n

But then, the focus shifts again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s so tough, when you\u2019re doing [from] Tuesday up until Thursday practice before qualifying, you\u2019re focused on the race car. And then Fast Friday is pure quali trim. But at the end of the day, you also want to keep the car in one piece, so you don\u2019t really want to run that much, where the conditions might have been completely different Tuesday to Thursday, than what you\u2019re going to see on race day,\u201d described Lundgaard. \u201cMonday practice, after qualifying, was much closer to what is anticipated for race day and the car was behaving in a completely different way.\u201d<\/p>\n

That, described Lundgaard, is just part of what makes Indy so \u201cdifficult\u201d for the drivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just what\u2019s so difficult because at the same time, conditions are changing, you\u2019re making changes to the car or you\u2019re keeping the exact same car that you had, I guess four days before qualifying weekend and it just doesn\u2019t feel the same,\u201d added the driver. \u201cAnd it\u2019s just so mind-blowingly different, and it\u2019s just very difficult to keep track of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there is the fact that every turn, and every bit of the track, is different. When I asked the Arrow McLaren driver about that factor, he brought up the wind as an example.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe entire week of practice, Fast Friday, Saturday qualifying, was one wind direction,\u201d started Lundgaard. \u201cWe show up Sunday and it\u2019s the opposite way, and it\u2019s the opposite way again on Monday, and something we haven\u2019t experienced. And it\u2019s just so difficult because you build up all these references Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, OK, it\u2019s all the same. Then you go out Sunday and the wind is so much less, and it\u2019s a little bit of a wind direction shift. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019re like, \u2018OK, how do I adjust to that?\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause all my references are with the balance like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundgaard posited that those changes, and drivers trying to adjust to them, could be a reason for some of the crashes we\u2019ve already seen at Indianapolis this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think we\u2019ve seen that with a few people, making mistakes and brushing the wall or having big crashes and I think that\u2019s what caught Scott [McLaughlin] out too in in in Sunday morning practice, the track was completely different. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a lot cooler than the day before and, yeah, it\u2019s not fun.\u201d <\/p>\n

Thankfully, Lundgaard has an entire team behind him helping the driver sort it all out. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think as a team, Arrow McLaren has helped me a lot with just understanding and keeping the mentality, and just keeping calm and staying in the present, and also keeping the vision of what\u2019s really important for the long term versus just, \u2018[T]his is what [the track] feels like this right now, and we have a lot of references from times where things have felt good, or this was similar to what we were expecting on race day.\u201d <\/p>\n

What can be fun, however?<\/p>\n

When you do hook the car up for a lap at IMS.<\/p>\n

I asked Lundgaard what the track feels like at qualifying speeds, and he gave me both the best-case scenario, as well as the worst-case scenario.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the worst-case scenario.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re out there and something doesn\u2019t feel right, it is the worst time of your life because you feel like everything you\u2019re doing is out of your control,\u201d started Lundgaard. \u201cI think sometimes in traffic running, you don\u2019t know what to expect because cars are running different lines. There\u2019s people fighting ahead of you, behind you.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the best case? Lundgaard\u2019s eyes lit up when he walked me through this part of the answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would definitely say when everything is clicking and you\u2019re just driving around out there enjoying yourself, it is the most fun you\u2019ll ever have,\u201d began Lundgaard.<\/p>\n

He then offered a comparison I was not quite ready for, but understood immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the best feeling when everything clicks. When everything clicks it\u2019s, it\u2019s kind of I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve seen the video of Charles Leclerc\u2019s sunset lap at Austin<\/a> a couple of years ago, that\u2019s like the perfect description of how it feels, because it\u2019s just so picture-perfect,\u201d continued Lundgaard. \u201cAnd it almost gives me goosebumps just talking about it right now because you\u2019re kind of getting that blink of a thought, of a vision, of what it really feels like.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s it\u2019s awesome.\u201d <\/p>\n

Year 1 at Arrow McLaren<\/p>\n

Something else that is awesome?<\/p>\n

Lundgaard\u2019s start to the 2025 season, and his transition to Arrow McLaren.<\/p>\n

After four years at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, where his best place in the standings was an eighth-place finish during the 2023 IndyCar season, Lundgaard moved to Arrow McLaren for the 2025 campaign. Thanks to the three podiums he already has this year, Lundgaard enters the Indianapolis 500 sitting third in the standings, behind only Alex Palou and teammate Pato O\u2019Ward.<\/p>\n

When it came time to ask some questions from readers, the first one touched on how quickly \u2014 and how well \u2014 Lundgaard was able to adjust to life at Arrow McLaren and fit in with the team, to produce these results. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a very simple, short answer really. I don\u2019t want to sound cocky, right? I know what I\u2019m capable of doing, and I think if you put a fast driver in a fast race car, the results will come by themselves,\u201d started Lundgaard. \u201cObviously, the whole package needs to fit. If you put a fast driver in a fast car, you\u2019re going to have good results, but you\u2019re not going to see them consistently, right? And I think that\u2019s where the No. 7 crew has done an incredible job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundgaard then highlighted the importance of communication in a race team, and \u201cspeaking the same language\u201d when it comes to the situations that arise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent a lot of time in the offseason preparing and making sure we were speaking the same language, and kind of covering all bases, covering all kinds of situations, making sure when I was saying, \u2018hey, Chris,\u2019 my engineer [Chris Lawrence] would understand what I\u2019m trying to tell him,\u201d continued Lundgaard. \u201cI think the more time you spend with someone, the more you\u2019re gonna learn about them, and I feel like we did a good job with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Racing in the digital media era is more than just going fast on the track. It is also connecting with the fans off the track, and social media goes a long way in that effort.<\/p>\n

Arrow McLaren does a tremendous job on social media, as do the drivers. One reader did want to know, however, if Lundgaard felt like he was stepping into the \u201cadult in the room\u201d role vacated by Alexander Rossi when creating content with O\u2019Ward and the rookie Siegel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a good one. I hadn\u2019t really thought about that,\u201d started Lundgaard.<\/p>\n

\u201cFunnily enough, Pato is the oldest of the team, Nolan\u2019s definitely the youngest, I think,\u201d continued the Arrow McLaren driver. We have a good variety of personalities, right? I think Pato is very outgoing, explosive. I think Nolan is a little more up-and-coming young kid that is just kind of trying to explore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundgaard then reflected on his journey for a moment. Born in Denmark, he began karting professionally when he was just 11 years old, competing all over Europe, and he got his start in the lower single-seater formulae when he was just 15. <\/p>\n

As he described it, you grow up fast in that world.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, I grew up at a certain age, right, but I got into this motor racing industry at a very young age, and I was kind of left by myself. I started traveling by myself when I was 13, so basically ten years ago now. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you grow up really fast. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou mature extremely fast. And I was on the road through my high school years and, basically what\u2019s equivalent to college, back home and every time I would come home to school, I\u2019d be like, \u2018[W]hat are you guys doing?\u2019 You grow up in a sense,\u201d described Lundgaard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s just because I was surrounded by much older people, you know, working with people that are twice my age back then, and you just grow up so fast,\u201d continued the driver. \u201cWhen I now see myself with Pato, with Nolan, when we\u2019re doing all this stuff, I\u2019m just gonna be myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not gonna try to put up this character, that sometimes I feel like it looks like Pato\u2019s doing that, but that\u2019s just who he is. And I think it\u2019s becoming more apparent to people that that\u2019s just who he is. <\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, he\u2019s awesome. <\/p>\n

\u201cI love Pato. He says what\u2019s on his mind.\u201d <\/p>\n

His chances in the 500<\/h2>\n

As our time wound down, we circled back to this year\u2019s Indianapolis 500. Having spoken with both Siegel and O\u2019Ward about their Indy-specific liveries, I wanted to get Lundgaard\u2019s thoughts on his bespoke design for the 109th Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n

He began with a rather funny memory of when Arrow McLaren introduced their designs for the 2025 season, with the \u201cNever Stop Racing\u201d motto they are using throughout the entire McLaren organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I never stop racing, the whole McLaren concept. Here, we keep laughing, calling it \u2018Nolan Siegel Racing.\u2019 NSR. When we saw the renderings for the first time, we were like, \u2018I didn\u2019t know this was Nolan\u2019s team.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo we had a good laugh about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

We then turned to the design of the No. 7 car for the Indianapolis 500:<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Arrow McLaren<\/cite><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re never gonna get tired of white. It\u2019s always classy, and it always looks awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lundgaard is also a fan of his full-season car, as well as all the team\u2019s cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think my general season car is probably the prettiest car on the entire grid,\u201d added the driver. \u201cI feel like we have kind the best-looking cars.\u201d <\/p>\n

Our time was nearly up, so I did have one final question.<\/p>\n

What would a win in the 500 mean for him?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good question,\u201d began Lundgaard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say I\u2019m more relaxed. I\u2019m more kind of laid back and don\u2019t really think about it, because at the end of the day, I know it\u2019s going to be life-changing. I\u2019ve always been very good at not setting expectations and, I look at it realistically. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut winning would obviously, I think it would be more of a surprise than anything else. Obviously, I know I\u2019m good enough to win. The question is: Is it going to be my time? Is it going to be my day, on the very given day? <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s the big question,\u201d continued Lundgaard. \u201cI\u2019m gonna take it in and take it as it comes, and enjoy the moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, if he does win the Indianapolis 500, he knows that the next few days will be \u201chell,\u201d as he put it.<\/p>\n

But he will have a great mentor by his side helping him through it, should that need arise. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know that the following days are gonna be hell [should he win on Sunday], having to go to New York, having to do all these media appearances, and then going straight to Detroit [for the next race] and, be back on it, switched on,\u201d added Lundgaard. \u201cI think from my own perspective, I don\u2019t really want to think about what it\u2019s going to bring, what it\u2019s going to do. <\/p>\n

That is where Tony Kanaan, Arrow McLaren\u2019s Team Principal and the winner of the 2013 Indianapolis 500, would come in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard more stories than I can count to from Tony Kanaan about what it does, winning the 500, and I think he\u2019s more proud of it than he\u2019s not. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s very, very obvious and Tony\u2019s a great guy and he\u2019s given me a lot of tips and help, just from how to approach [racing] over the weekends and all of this stuff.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if I\u2019m ever in doubt, I\u2019ll just ask Tony.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mark Schofield
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunday when the cars roll off the line for the start of the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500, Arrow McLaren driver Christian Lundgaard will be in somewhat unfamiliar territory. Starting inside the Top 10 at the biggest spectacle in motorsports. After three seasons spent sweating out whether he would even make it into the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":854703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[755,125348],"tags":[6004,144513],"class_list":{"0":"post-854702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-christian","8":"category-lundgaard","9":"tag-christian","10":"tag-lundgaard"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/854703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}