The end of an era is upon us: McLaren Racing has bought out the final two minority investors of its IndyCar outfit, meaning that the team will be the sole remit of the papaya brand heading into 2025.

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has hailed the move as a way to strengthen the team’s presence in North America, but many longtime IndyCar fans are mourning the loss of Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson as co-owners.

McLaren Racing takes full control of IndyCar team

Back in 2020, McLaren Racing took a risk. It bought into an IndyCar team.

It was a bold move for many reasons, though largely because its Formula 1 team had only just begun to find its footing in the sport after several years of dismal performances. Outsourcing its money and manpower could have easily been a mistake.

Instead, the F1 program began to thrive, and so did the IndyCar team. Heading into 2021, McLaren bought out a majority share of the team, 75%, leaving former shareholders Sam Schmidt and Ric Peterson holding onto the final 25%.

Now, both of those latter two men will depart the sport after spending decades in competition.

The team we now know as McLaren Racing started in 2001 by Sam Schmidt. See, in January of 2000, Schmidt crashed in a practice session at the Walt Disney World Speedway and was ultimately diagnosed as a quadriplegic due to severe spinal cord injuries.

But just 14 months after his accident, Schmidt was back, albeit in a team ownership role. That season, he fielded five different drivers in two cars to complete every race of 2001 — though financial issues ultimately meant that the team turned into a one-off Indy 500 competitor for several years.

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In 2012, the team took on its next name, Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports, courtesy of an investment from driver Davey Hamilton. The following year, Canadian transportation magnate Ric Peterson purchased a stake in the team to create Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. And in 2019, Arrow Electronics signed on as a primary sponsor; the brand had long worked with Schmidt to build Corvettes that he could control with nothing but his breath and movements of his eyes.

Now, that era has come to an end — and so has Schmidt’s involvement with the project that helped him return to racing after his accident.

“Stepping away from my ownership role with Arrow McLaren is bittersweet,” Schmidt said, as reported by RACER.

“This team has been my life’s work, growing from a dream into a competitor at the highest level. I’m endlessly grateful to the drivers, team members, partners and fans who made it all possible, and to McLaren for elevating the team’s potential.

“While I’m stepping back from ownership, my heart will always be with this team, and I’ll be cheering for its continued success every step of the way.”

Peterson added, “Since I joined Sam as co-owner in 2013, it’s been rewarding to see this team evolve. We welcomed Arrow as title partner in 2019, we joined forces with McLaren in 2021, we became a three-car NTT IndyCar Series team in 2023, and we celebrated many poles, podiums and wins in Indy Lights and IndyCar throughout those years.

“This team has a strong foundation for success, and Sam and I are proud of where we leave it.”

For his own part, Zak Brown is understandably excited about what the future brings, saying, “This is an exciting step for McLaren Racing as we grow and strengthen our presence in North America, which is a very important market for our team and our fans.”

He also paid tribute to the former team owners, Schmidt and Peterson.

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