Callum Ilott will drive for Arrow McLaren at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, replacing the injured David Malukas in the No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet.
Announcing the lineup move Tuesday, Arrow McLaren said in a release that the team “continues to evaluate options for its driver lineup for future tests and races as David recovers.”
Malukas had surgery last month on his left wrist, which was dislocated in a mountain biking accident. Arrow McLaren had estimated a six-week reocvery from when stitches were removed, a timeline that would peg his return to early April — before the Grand Prix of Long Beach but after the $1 Million Challenge exhibition race March 24 at The Thermal Club.
During a video news conference Tuesday, Ilott said he would be available beyond St. Pete as needed. His first priority is a full-time ride for the 2024 season in the World Endurance Championship, where the former Scuderia Ferrari test driver finished third with Team JOTA in the WEC season opener last Saturday in Qatar.
“I think it all depends on David,” Ilott said “I hope he recovers as quickly as possible. I am available for Thermal, but again, that’s a later point whether we’ll know if that’s the case or not. We’ll see what happens with David and the team and for the future.”
The eight-round WEC will return to action April 21 in Italy, conflicting with the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (the next points race on the IndyCar schedule).
Ilott said he missed last week’s IndyCar test at Sebring International Raceway because of his WEC schedule and indicated that preparation and testing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans also could restrict his availability. After completing a Feb. 21 hybrid test at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Arrow McLaren, Ilott “got straight on a plane to the UK, stopped off, got my helmet for the WEC stuff and flew to Qatar.
“I think WEC is the priority for me, and it will be for the near future,” he said. “Of course if I’m available and what’s needed is me, then of course I’m open to doing it. We’ll have to see what happens on that side. But I pray for David that that’s not the case because you want to be in the car and you want to work with your team. I hope that he is in the car very soon because it’s very tough to sit and watch. I don’t really wish that on anyone, especially with a new team.”
Though he no longer is based in the United States, Ilott has kept an apartment in the Indianapolis area and would be open to driving in IndyCar races for other teams this season. He estimated that he could make 11 to 12 of the 17 races on the IndyCar schedule (including the Indy 500).
“Of course, it’s all up for discussion,” Ilott said of one-off opportunities with other teams. “There’s a limit to what you can do in terms of travel. ... But of course if there is availability and communication goes that way, there’s no reason to say no.
“I took a step away from IndyCar to go and do the World Endurance Championship, and again, it’s a professional series ride. To be honest, I just want to do what I enjoy. I enjoy it a lot. I enjoy IndyCar a lot. Just have to see where that takes me. But I’m not forcing anything because it just doesn’t feel right. I’m kind of going with the flow. The fact that I can make all of this happen and I think so far start the year in a very nice way after the end of last year, it’s great, so I’m just going to continue that momentum and keep enjoying it and keep getting results in everything I can do.”
Ilott, who has five top 10 finishes in 36 IndyCar starts, raced the past two seasons for Juncos Hollinger Racing, which replaced the Brit with Romain Grosjean during the offseason.
He finished fifth in last year’s season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, tying a career best that he set in the 2023 season opener at St. Petersburg. Ilott had said during the Laguna Seca weekend that he would return with JHR, but he was involved in an incident in the race with teammate Agustin Canapino. Team co-owner Ricardo Juncos and Canapino both were critical of Ilott, who was subjected to a social media firestorm.
But it was the strategic alliance between Juncos Hollinger Racing and Arrow McLaren that helped land Ilott the ride for St. Pete. He had been in communication with McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown before the No. 6 opened. Because of an already planned fortuitous visit to Indianapolis (where he was checking in on an apartment), Ilott was able to get fitted for a seat quickly at the Arrow McLaren shop within days of Malukas being hurt.
“I had that communication established (with Brown), which is why I think it was quite easy to get the ball rolling to do St. Pete a couple of weeks ago,” Ilott said.
It’s part of a whirlwind start to the year for Ilott, who posted fast times in Qatar before earning his first podium in years.
“It was a very impressive first race,” he said. “The team did an amazing job and was very competitive. We wish we could have got a little more out of there because P1 is always something that you want to get, but I think it was the first Hypercar podium that we had achieved as a team, and yeah, I’m really looking forward to carrying the momentum.
“It’s been refreshing. It’s nice to go into an environment and hit the ground running, and it’s also an environment that I kind of grew up in a little bit more, so I’m hoping to bring the momentum (to IndyCar) and see what I can do.”