Tempers flared as the sun set over World Wide Technology Raceway this weekend, with an unaired radio message from McLaren IndyCar driver Nolan Siegel prompting a major response from the team.

Siegel unleashed a torrent of foul language in frustration over a move from Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, which gained traction on social media.

McLaren issue statement regarding unheard Nolan Siegel radio message

Late on Sunday evening, a big day of major motorsport events came to a close with the NTT IndyCar Series hosting its annual outing at World Wide Technology Raceway — better known as Gateway — in Madison, Illinois.

The 260-lap mid-afternoon race had been rescheduled to the evening in order to avoid major conflicts with Formula 1 at the Canadian Grand Prix and NASCAR at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and as the sun set over the field, tempers flared.

In qualifying, Team Penske looked extremely strong, locking out the front row of the grid with Will Power on pole position. But one by one, the drivers of the Chevy team faced failures.

Power was knocked out first after a tyre failed. After that came a concerning, upside-down flip for Josef Newgarden that ended his race in terrifying fashion. In the closing stages, Scott McLaughlin suffered a left-rear suspension failure, capping off a miserable night for the team.

But McLaughlin’s run-in with Arrow McLaren driver Nolan Siegel left the latter driver spilling a torrent of frustration over the radio.

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McLaughlin had taken control of the race after the first round of pit stops, but teammate Newgarden was fast approaching just as the former driver began to approach lapped traffic.

In IndyCar, drivers are not required to move out of the way for the lead pack if they are still on the lead lap and can fight as hard to avoid being lapped as they can. In this case, Siegel tried to keep McLaughlin at bay by squeezing him down to the grass — but McLaughlin held firm. Siegel was penalized for his actions.

The two drivers were also involved in an on-track confrontation at the Detroit Grand Prix. During a restart after a caution period came to a close, McLaughlin ran into the back of Siegel’s car and ended the McLaren driver’s day. McLaughlin was penalized.

That previous bit of contact meant that at Gateway, Siegel was extremely upset. He radioed in to his team to say, “Bullsh*t! F*cking bullsh*t! Absolutely not. Absolutely not.

“You f*cking take me out last race, and he gets to f*cking continue? No! F*ck that sh*t! Tell Penske to go f*ck themselves!”

Later, on the track, he called into the team again to say, “I want you to talk to them about that penalty, that’s f*cking bullsh*t.”

“10-4, 10-4, we’ll deal with it after the race,” Siegel’s race engineer replied.

“Deal with it right f*cking now,” Siegel replied.

Across the pond, the FIA has made headlines thanks to its ongoing pushback against drivers using curse words; while IndyCar hasn’t publicly taken the same tack, IndyCar reporter Nathan Brown pointed out on X that Indy NXT, a junior category to IndyCar, “hasn’t taken kindly to NSFW language directed at series personnel.”

Brown did also note that he spotted McLaughlin, Siegel, and Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan having constructive conversations after the race.

Still, the clip of Siegel’s outburst — which was untelevised but which is accessible as part of IndyCarLive’s subscription-based service that allows fans to view full race onboards after the event — went somewhat viral in motorsport circles. It has prompted an official statement from Arrow McLaren.

McLaren’s statement read as follows:

At Arrow McLaren, we hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism, respect and sportsmanship – on and off the track. The language expressed over our radio during this past race weekend does not reflect who we are as a team.

We do not condone that behavior. We’ve addressed it directly with Nolan, and he is taking responsibility for his actions. Accountability is a core value at Arrow McLaren, and we expect every team member to represent our partners, fans and organization with integrity.

Additionally, we expect our fans and online community to act with respect and civility, and we will not tolerate hate, abuse or discrimination within our social media platforms. It is vital that we collectively maintain a safe and welcoming community for all involved.

Further, Siegel took to his Instagram story to write:

I want to sincerely apologize to my team, our partners, and our fans for the outburst and language I used over the radio during this past race weekend. In the heat of the moment, I let my emotions take over, and that doesn’t reflect who I really am.

There’s no excuse for what I said. I take full responsibility for my actions, and I regret letting down the incredible group of people who support me both on and off the track.

I’m committed to learning from this and showing up with the professionalism, composure, and respect the team and our fans deserve. I’m focused on this upcoming race weekend and giving everything I have to deliver a performance worthy of the hard work the No. 6 crew and I have put in together.

IndyCar heads off to Road America in Wisconsin for this weekend’s XPEL Grand Prix.

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