Nolan Siegel loses his cool at the IndyCar race in Illinois and verbally attacks Penske – McLaren apologizes, but has a problem with team boss Tony Kanaan himself
Nolan Siegel’s extraordinary outburst over the radio during the Bommarito 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway last Sunday was nothing short of spectacular.
In case you missed it: On lap 83, Penske driver Scott McLaughlin attempted to pass Siegel on the inside of turn 2, but the Arrow McLaren driver defended himself by blocking the pass. According to IndyCar regulations, blocking a pass in this manner is not permitted due to the associated safety risks.
Siegel received a drive-through penalty and, when he was informed of this – still angry from a collision with McLaughlin in the previous race in Detroit – he exploded over the radio: “Bullshit, fucking bullshit, absolutely not!”
“Absolutely not, he fucks me out in the last race and he just gets to keep going. No. Fuck that shit. Tell Penske to fuck them!”
The profanity-laced outburst spread rapidly on social media, prompting Arrow McLaren to issue an official statement. It read: “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 the race weekend does not reflect what we stand for as a team.”
At Arrow McLaren, we hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism, respect and sportsmanship—on and off the track.
Full Team Statement:
— Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team (@ArrowMcLaren) June 18, 2025
“We do not condone this behavior. We have discussed this directly with Nolan, and he is taking responsibility for his actions. Responsibility is a core value at Arrow McLaren, and we expect every team member to represent our partners, fans, and the organization with integrity.”
“We also expect our fans and online community to act with respect and courtesy. We will not tolerate hate, abuse, or discrimination on our social media platforms. It is crucial that we work together to maintain a safe and welcoming community for everyone involved.”
Although swearing is commonplace in motorsport, the backlash experienced by Siegel – whose clean-cut image made his words all the more surprising – was excessive.
What role does Tony Kanaan play?
But behind the tirade lies a bigger problem involving Arrow McLaren team boss Tony Kanaan. His ongoing feud with McLaughlin is playing out publicly on social media – and perhaps McLaren should be focusing on that rather than Siegel’s outburst.
On June 18, 2024, McLaughlin posted the following comment on X (formerly Twitter): “Let’s take a moment of silence for all the trees that were sacrificed for McLaren contracts.”
This was in response to McLaren’s decision to fire David Malukas, replace him with Theo Pourchaire, and then replace Pourchaire with Siegel.
Kanaan responded by saying, “Too bad there wasn’t a minute’s silence for push-to-pass in St. Pete… but we can have one together.” This was a reference to the Penske push-to-pass scandal, in which both McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden were disqualified from the race in St. Petersburg.
McLaughlin had claimed he did not remember using the system to gain an advantage, but data showed he had used it once for 1.9 seconds, whereupon he accepted the penalty.
The incident in Detroit this season – in which McLaughlin hit Siegel – reignited tensions and led to another social media spat. McLaughlin mocked McLaren’s management for “still looking for beef.”
Dispute with McLaughlin escalates
Another public, bitter exchange followed on the platform, with Kanaan writing snidely: “I was looking for your team boss to have a conversation, but I couldn’t find him. Oh yeah, right…”
This was, of course, a reference to Penske’s dismissal of team president Tim Cindric, managing director Ron Ruzewski, and general manager Kyle Moyer—all during qualifying for the Indy 500—after it was discovered that the team had manipulated the crash structures of its cars.
Misjudged last week, misjudged this week, at least you get a weekend off to square that away. I came looking for your team principal to have a chat but I couldn’t find him. Oh wait… https://t.co/aV8019jGdV
— Tony Kanaan (@TonyKanaan) June 1, 2025
The whole thing seems rather childish. Like Kanaan’s response to someone on X who accused him of embarrassing himself. “Come visit the baby Borg and the championship trophy if you can,” he wrote.
All of this raises an obvious question: If McLaren tolerates this kind of unfiltered social media “banter” from its team boss, isn’t it hypocritical to publicly reprimand Siegel for an emotional outburst on the radio?
In the meantime, McLaughlin confirmed on X that he had “a good chat” with Siegel after the race – suggesting that tensions between the two drivers have eased. Whether that also applies to Kanaan remains to be seen, however.
