Bobby Rahal and his fellow co-owners of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing have a genuine fondness for Christian Lundgaard. They didn’t want to search for a new driver to occupy their No. 45 Honda, but that’s the situation they find themselves in after he decided to leave RLL for Arrow McLaren at the end of the NTT IndyCar Series season.
Rahal understands that the 22-year-old has made what he believes is the best decision for his career at this stage, but that doesn’t make the disappointment or the feelings of rejection associated with Lundgaard’s upcoming move to partner with Pato O’Ward and Nolan Siegel in 2025 any less painful.
“I’m proud of what our team has accomplished over the past few years, and Christian has certainly been a part of that,” Rahal said. “So what I told the team today was that it seems Christian doesn’t believe we can bring him to victory lane as often as McLaren can. And if we look at past history, well, that may not necessarily be a wise decision. But okay, I understand it. Maybe we haven’t made the progress we would have liked, but we’re working hard to make those improvements. A career isn’t built in one year. It takes multiple years to establish a career.
“We loved Christian. We still love Christian. He’s a dynamic individual. He’s someone who brings energy to the team, and I’m just saddened that he has chosen to go elsewhere. But I’ve been in this sport for a long time, and this isn’t the first time it has happened, and it won’t be the last.”
Lundgaard, who currently holds the 11th position in the driver’s championship, will replace Alexander Rossi in the No. 7 Chevy, who is currently seventh in the standings, just behind O’Ward in sixth. After giving the former Formula 2 driver an opportunity in IndyCar in the summer of 2021, Rahal wanted Lundgaard to stay and continue leading the RLL team towards better days.
“Loyalty means a lot to me, and I know it means a lot to Mike Lanigan,” he added. “I remember in ’81 when I sent letters to Roger Penske and Pat Patrick, asking them to let me drive their Indy cars on the road circuits. I received responses from them that basically said, ‘Don’t contact us. We’ll contact you.’ And in ’84, Pat Patrick offered me a ride, but I turned it down because of Jim Trueman, who had put his faith in me and got me into IndyCar.
“At the end of ’84, Roger Penske approached me in Las Vegas and offered me a ride. I thought about it, and I said, ‘You know, Jim Trueman is the one who brought me here. I’m going to stick with Jim Trueman.’ So loyalty, to me, is more important than anything else, because there are ups and downs in everything, right? And you want to feel like you have a home during both the highs and the lows. That’s what disappoints me the most about Christian’s decision. He clearly didn’t feel the same way. Maybe that’s our fault.”
So where will RLL begin their search for Lundgaard’s replacement?
“You know, I feel a strong sense of loyalty towards Juri Vips (pictured, top), who is arguably one of the best Formula 2 drivers out there, considering many of them are coming over here,” he said about the Estonian driver who impressed in two RLL outings last year and remains on the team as a test and reserve driver.
“He has been a fantastic partner for us. He’s a team player. I have a great deal of admiration for Juri. He doesn’t complain; if you ask him to do something, he does it, and he does it exceptionally well. While I’m sorry to see Christian go, when one door closes, another one opens, and I’m excited about our future at RLL. We’ll be fine. We wish Christian the best, and you know what? We’ll find someone of equal caliber to follow in his footsteps.”
With several sponsorship agreements to finalize across RLL’s three cars, Rahal doesn’t expect to have the new driver for the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda confirmed until August. He also addressed rumors suggesting that the Midwest grocery store chain is leaving along with Lundgaard.
“We’re still working on some arrangements with sponsors and such, so it’s still early. We’re in the process of working with various companies, whether they’re new or existing, to renew or extend our partnerships. We won’t know the driver situation until the end of July, and more likely the end of August,” he said.
“Hy-Vee has been our sponsor since 2020 when Graham (Rahal) drove a Hy-Vee car in Iowa and finished third, which is what sparked their interest in joining us on a larger scale. We’ve had different drivers represent them over the years, and our relationship with Hy-Vee is very strong. I’m confident that we will continue to be partnered with Hy-Vee in the years to come.”
