Arrow McLaren has confirmed that David Malukas will miss the opening round of the 2024 IndyCar season at St. Petersburg as he faces a six-week recovery following surgery on his injury picked up after an unfortunate mountain bike crash at the weekend.
He is also set to be out of the 1 million dollar challenge event at Thermal. However, that does not carry championship points. Malukas should make his McLaren debut at Long Beach towards the end of April.
In their press release, McLaren stated: to “Following a mountain biking incident this weekend, David Malukas successfully underwent surgery on Tuesday, February 13 to repair torn ligaments in his dislocated left wrist.”
“His recovery timeline is estimated to be six weeks following the removal of his stitches February 22. The team is currently evaluating reserve driver options for the No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and will announce the driver in due course.”
Gavin Ward, Team Principal, Arrow McLaren, said:
“It’s just heartbreaking for David, of course, and our entire team. We’ve seen how much work he and this entire group has put into preparing for his first season in papaya. But it’s often how we recover from setbacks and adversity that defines us and our character. We will do everything we can to support David in his recovery and when he’s back on track the success will be all the sweeter.”
David Malukas, Driver, Arrow McLaren, said:
“I’m gutted this happened, especially so close to the season. I feel horrible for the team who have worked so hard to prepare for our first season together. I will be working hard to get back on track as soon as I can. I can’t wait to go racing with the team in papaya.”