Felix Rosenqvist In, Simon Pagenaud Out at Meyer Shank Racing IndyCar Team

Silly season in the NTT IndyCar Series ramped up today, as Meyer Shank Racing announced that is has signed current Arrow McLaren racer Felix Rosenqvist to a multiyear deal.

In a corresponding move, Simon Pagenaud announced on social media that he would be leaving Meyer Shank. Pagenaud, the 2019 Indy 500 winner and 2016 IndyCar champion, hasn't raced since being sidelined following a July 1 crash at Mid-Ohio.

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At MSR, Rosenqvist will team with Tom Blomqvist for the full season. Helio Castroneves will remain with the team as a consultant and is expected to race the Indy 500 for MSR.

“We’re very excited to have our 2024 IndyCar plans finalized and to welcome Felix (Rosenqvist) to the team,” said team owner Mike Shank. “Felix has been someone that has been on our radar for quite some time now and everything lined up this year to work something out with him. It’s no secret that we’ve had a difficult season, with some things out of our control and some things in our control. I think we are all looking forward to resetting completely, starting over and getting to work.

'I think Tom and Felix will work great together and really feed off of each other. We will also have Helio with us at every race to provide his feedback and advice which will be an added bonus, so I think we’re in for a solid year ahead.”

Rosenqvist, 31, is a five-year veteran of the NTT IndyCar Series. His lone win in 78 career starts came at Road America in 2020. He finished second at Portland this past Sunday and sits 12th in the Drivers' Standings heading into this weekend's finale—the Grand Prix of Monterey.

“I’m super excited to start the next chapter of my INDYCAR career together with MSR,” said Rosenqvist. “This will be a great opportunity for myself and MSR to elevate and get to the next level together. I’m also pretty excited to get to work with my old friend Tom (Blomqvist) again. I’m ready to start working together and getting the next season started."

As for the 39-year-old Pagenaud, his future in racing is unclear. The 15-time race winner will end up missing the final nine races of 2023.

“I would like to wish MSR all the best and thank Mike Shank, Jim Meyer and the whole team for the valuable experiences I have gathered through the last two years,” Pagenaud said on X. “I wish we could have achieved more together over the last two seasons and win races, but we could not make it happen.

“For now my goal is to fully focus on myself and recuperating. It is a slow process, and I will continue to work with the doctors and do what is necessary to get my health back to 100%.”