The drive to work for Arrow McLaren’s roughly 120 employees will look dramatically different when they get back from winter break on January 5, 2026, and that’s because it will officially mark the team’s first day at the new McLaren Racing Center (MRC).
Formerly the shop for Andretti Global, Arrow McLaren grabbed the keys on July 1 and began a six-month renovation project that saw the 75,000-square-foot facility expanded to 86,000 square feet. It’s a dramatic jump from the 33,000 square feet shop the team has worked out of since returning to the IndyCar Series regularly in 2020.
Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan believes the new shop puts the team in a more representative standing to its storied name.
“When I say my McLaren, you're gonna go to McLaren and you think you're gonna come into a state-of-the-art building,” Kanaan told Motorsport.com. “And the expectation is that because let's face it, they drive a McLaren to a restaurant, they're gonna park in front.
“It's a status. Perception-wise people really like it. And then you bring people at the old shop - which was great - when we bought the team, this was the shop that we had and there was a transition but it didn't match.”
Kanaan pointed to the standards set by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown in Formula One, with McLaren’s Formula One team fresh off winning both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ championships, and how the IndyCar program needs to match that level of success.
“We are racers, but we would like to set standards,” said Kanaan, the 2013 Indianapolis 500 champion. “We're different. We think differently. We create the name of a color: it’s papaya. So, if you're going to preach and introduce a culture of environment for the best place to work, words don't do anything, you've got to make it happen.”
And the MRC should help do exactly that, with the facility housing features that were previously external such as a fitness and recovery center, along with an improved graphics department and equipment. In addition to an expanded lobby, there is also an expanded second floor mezzanine, elevator, and employee break/meeting room that can hold up to 70 people.
The renovations were handled by Dillon Construction Group, the same company that constructed the building in 1996 for Team Green.
The significance of the upgrade cannot be understated enough, especially considering the size in which Arrow McLaren have grown over the past few seasons.
“A small shop, 120 people in a shop that was 30 people when we started it,” Kanaan said. “You can tell who got to work late because then he or she parked on the grass.”
The biggest improvements the MRC will bring, though, is being able to hold the necessary machinery to do everything in-house and not have to play the waiting game on parts. That’s something that finally draws Arrow McLaren level with the likes of Andretti Global, Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske.
“That's the level you need to be,” Kanaan said. “It's not because of the looks to compete with those guys. It’s the capability of building things. IndyCar, the rules are pretty tight but there's still things that we need to manufacture. We can't fit a manufacturing machine in the fabrication shop here (at the old shop) because we don't have space; we need to send it somewhere else. Shipping, cost, time, lead time, you’re waiting on a third party to make it happen, delays of stuff. And racing doesn't wait.
"All those things, all those factors, count to be able to beat those top three teams, because I know and the people that I actually hired to be here now, they know what it takes.”
The idea of having a “bad ass building” is also something Kanaan sees as something that also helps morale. Additionally, though, there’s even more pressure to perform.
“Now, I think we're finally getting to a point where if anybody had any excuses, from here, we're gonna have to do it,” Kanaan said. “We've been doing it, but there is no more, ‘I don't have this or that.’ We're done. Everybody's pumped. Every move is stressful. We're being extremely organized."
Everyone on the team has taken part in helping the move, with Kanaan even building desks last week in the same building he never thought he’d walk back into.
“Obviously, a lot of memories in that shop for myself,” said Kanaan, referencing his eight seasons with Andretti (2003-10) as a driver that included winning the 2004 IndyCar title.
“The iconic 7-Eleven car. I got fired out of that building. I remember leaving that front door that I just walked in through today saying, ‘I'll never step foot in this building again.’ Shouldn't have said that, but now the positions are reversed and now; I can fire people, which I won’t.”
The other notable factor is the timing of moving into the MRC. With a new Indy car set to be introduced in 2028, the work behind the scenes is already underway.
And Kanaan is “more confident than I was two months ago” the long-anticipated new car will be on schedule.
“The biggest difference is gonna be when these teams get the new car and you have the potential to do 3D printing and solve some of the issues that a new car brings, because nobody's perfect,” Kanaan said. “It's not taking a jab at anybody, it’s just the way it is.”
Being able to handle that internally will also help push Arrow McLaren ahead of development, too.
“I can tackle my own stuff,” Kanaan said. “And that's when you're gonna see, probably, a little bit more discrepancy in the first year of a new car because the teams that have more capabilities, they're going to be ahead. This is the way it is. So, it was perfect timing.”
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