Lundgaard earned his Ganassi seat on track — now he must change how he works with a team

Summary

Ganassi confirmed Christian Lundgaard on a multi-year deal for its No. 9 Honda, validating the move GRANDE PRÊMIO reported in July.
Dixon’s departure followed a shift in Ganassi’s competitive centre toward Palou; McLaren saw value in the veteran’s experience as it pursued the championship and Indianapolis 500.
Lundgaard beat Pato O’Ward in the 2026 standings, but his arrival at Ganassi brings a harder sporting comparison and a fresh test of how he works within a team.

Christian Lundgaard’s move to Chip Ganassi Racing is neither a rescue from unemployment nor a straightforward promotion into a winning car. It is the meeting of two decisions that changed the IndyCar driver market: Scott Dixon leaving the No. 9 after more than two decades, and McLaren choosing Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist for 2027 despite Lundgaard’s strongest season in the series.

GRANDE PRÊMIO revealed on 14 July that Ganassi had selected Lundgaard to replace Dixon. McLaren had announced its 2027 line-up eight days earlier. Ganassi’s confirmation this Tuesday establishes the final contractual detail: Lundgaard has signed a multi-year agreement to drive the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda alongside Álex Palou and Kyffin Simpson. Our original report described a shorter expected commitment; the team’s announcement supersedes that detail.

The sporting case for Lundgaard is substantial. At 25, he has three IndyCar victories, including two in 2026, and finished this season third with 535 points. O’Ward won three times and finished fourth, 13 points behind him. Lundgaard’s wins at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Road America demonstrated his strength away from ovals. His first oval podium, at Milwaukee, showed progress in the discipline he still needs to develop.

Ganassi sees room for more. In the team’s announcement, owner Chip Ganassi explained why an established winner at Lundgaard’s age was available and why the organisation wanted him.

“We are excited to welcome Christian to Chip Ganassi Racing. We know he’s capable of accomplishing even more in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and we’re looking forward to helping him reach that next level with the No. 9 team. He’s already proven he can win races, and it isn’t often a driver of his caliber becomes available. Throughout our history, one of the things we’ve done best is identify young talent, help them maximize their potential, and develop them into championship contenders. We believe Christian has all the talent to be the next driver to do that,” Ganassi said.

Why Dixon left — and why McLaren wanted him

Dixon was more than the driver of Ganassi’s most recognisable car. His ability to develop a setup and describe what the car needed helped build a long period of success. He won six championships and the 2008 Indianapolis 500 with the team.

Then Palou increasingly became the centre of its results. Since joining Ganassi in 2021, the Spaniard has won five championships. Dixon remained a valuable technical presence, but his own results declined relative to his team-mate’s. The contrast was particularly sharp in 2026: Palou won the title with six victories; Dixon finished 12th without a win and with one podium.

GRANDE PRÊMIO reported during Dixon’s farewell that Ganassi’s proposed financial terms did not, in his view, reflect his history with the organisation. That helps explain the break, although a driver’s value cannot be reduced to his most recent championship position. McLaren was buying something Ganassi knew well: experience in car development, race management and winning the Indianapolis 500.

For Zak Brown, the move also serves a larger ambition. McLaren is preparing its 2027 Hypercar entry in the WEC and has publicly set out its aim of securing a new Triple Crown in the papaya era: wins at Monaco, Indianapolis and Le Mans under its current programme. Dixon is a proven Indianapolis winner; Rosenqvist won the 2026 500 with Meyer Shank Racing; Ryan Hunter-Reay will join McLaren’s three full-season drivers for the 2027 race.

McLaren’s own 2026 Indianapolis result explains the urgency without needing to diminish O’Ward. He finished fourth — another strong result, but still without the victory he and the team want. Adding Dixon and Rosenqvist gives team principal Tony Kanaan a different pool of oval-winning experience to draw on. Brown said the new line-up was assembled with both the championship and the 500 in view.

How Lundgaard became available despite beating O’Ward

Lundgaard’s results made his exit striking. He won twice in 2026 and finished ahead of O’Ward in the championship. On road courses, he gave McLaren a driver capable of winning without waiting for the No. 5 to carry the team.

Performance, however, was only one part of the renewal discussion. According to GRANDE PRÊMIO’s information on the talks, Lundgaard sought a substantial salary increase as his results improved. His manner inside the team also became a point of friction: people involved viewed him as increasingly self-assured and, at times, reluctant to acknowledge mistakes. Those are assessments from the McLaren environment, not a public explanation issued by the team or a verdict that can be drawn from lap times.

McLaren ultimately chose a different combination of skills and personalities. Kanaan’s long relationship with Dixon gave the team a familiar route to a six-time champion, while Rosenqvist’s Indianapolis victory strengthened its oval credentials. Once those deals were made, Lundgaard’s results made him the obvious available candidate for a Ganassi seat opened by Dixon’s departure.

He still had to complete 2026 at McLaren after learning he would not remain there. The championship finish showed that the uncertainty did not erase his speed: third place was the best result of his IndyCar career.

The No. 9 brings a different kind of pressure

Lundgaard acknowledged the weight of the car he will inherit in his first statement as a Ganassi driver.

“It is an honor and a privilege to join Chip Ganassi Racing beginning next season. The fact that it is in the iconic No. 9 PNC Bank Honda makes it even more special. CGR has set the standard in INDYCAR for decades, and the opportunity to be part of that legacy is something I’ve worked toward my entire career. I’m incredibly excited about what’s ahead. I can’t wait to get to work with everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing and compete for wins, championships, and the Indianapolis 500,” he said.

Honouring the No. 9 does not mean reproducing Dixon’s six titles. It means bringing his own speed to an organisation where technical collaboration and consistency have helped Palou turn strong seasons into championships. Ganassi has signed Lundgaard for several years; the first will show how quickly he can adapt from McLaren’s Chevrolet operation to a Honda team with its own methods and an established benchmark.

That benchmark is more demanding than O’Ward’s results alone suggest. Lundgaard narrowly beat the Mexican in 2026, but Palou scored 631 points to Lundgaard’s 535 and won six races. Joining the champion gives the Dane access to the strongest recent operation in the series while removing any ambiguity about the level required to lead it.

Ovals are the clearest area for targeted work. Lundgaard’s Milwaukee podium matters precisely because it showed progress, yet one oval podium does not make him an Indianapolis 500 contender on Dixon’s record. Working closely with Ganassi’s engineers and experienced oval specialists would help turn the speed he already has into a more complete championship challenge.

His relationship with the new team matters just as much. If the concerns reported from his time at McLaren were part of the reason the partnership ended, Ganassi offers Lundgaard the chance to answer them through daily work: taking feedback, owning mistakes when necessary and helping the group improve the car. Those qualities cannot be measured in a standings table, but they become visible over a long season.

The exchange has put both organisations under scrutiny. McLaren has taken Ganassi’s six-time champion to pursue the title and Indianapolis; Ganassi has taken McLaren’s fastest-rising race winner for the No. 9. Lundgaard has the pace to make the move succeed. Palou will make him demonstrate everything else.

Indy today: FAQ

Is there an IndyCar race today?

No. The 2026 season has ended. The next race is the 2027 St. Petersburg Grand Prix on 7 March; the race’s start time has not yet been announced.

Who will replace Scott Dixon in Ganassi’s No. 9 car?

Christian Lundgaard. Ganassi confirmed his multi-year contract on 29 September, validating the move first revealed by GRANDE PRÊMIO in July. He will drive the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda alongside Álex Palou and Kyffin Simpson.