Christian Lundgaard

Christian Lundgaard
Born	(2001-07-23) July 23, 2001 Denmark
Occupation	Racing driver
Years active	2017–present
Known for	Competing in IndyCar Series, 2022 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year

Christian Lundgaard (; born 23 July 2001) is a Danish professional racing driver currently competing in the IndyCar Series as the No. 7 Chevrolet driver for Arrow McLaren. He formerly drove car No. 45 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Lundgaard earned the title of 2022 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year and was a member of the Alpine Academy from 2017 through 2022.

Launching his single-seater journey in 2017, Lundgaard secured championships in both the F4 Spanish and SMP F4 series during his rookie season. He progressed to the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2018, finishing second behind Max Fewtrell. In 2019, he competed with ART Grand Prix in the inaugural 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship, concluding sixth in the overall standings. Continuing with ART, he participated in the 2020 Formula 2 Championship, achieving two victories and placing seventh overall. Following a difficult 2021 Formula 2 campaign, Lundgaard transitioned to IndyCar competition in 2022.

His first win in IndyCar came at the 2023 Honda Indy Toronto, where he became the first Danish driver to claim victory in an IndyCar race.

Karting

Lundgaard started his professional karting career in 2012, competing extensively across Europe and capturing three significant titles, notably the 2015 CIK-FIA Karting European Championship. By December 2016, Motorsport.com had ranked him fifth among the top ten karting talents expected to excel in the future.

Lower formulae

At just 15 years old in 2017, Lundgaard made his single-seater debut with MP Motorsport, contesting both SMP F4 and Spanish F4 championships. He dominated SMP F4 by securing nine wins, seven pole positions, and ten fastest laps, clinching the championship well before season’s end. Concurrently, he won six races in Spanish F4—including every event at Aragón—securing that title as well.

Formula Renault Eurocup

In 2018, Lundgaard advanced to Formula Renault Eurocup with MP Motorsport following post-season testing. He achieved his first podium at Paul Ricard and recorded his maiden series victory at Monza, claiming the championship lead. Despite encountering challenges such as retirements and several consistent fifth-place finishes, he bounced back with podiums and wins at Red Bull Ring, Spa-Francorchamps, and Hungaroring, remaining a strong contender for the title. However, a double retirement at Hockenheimring impacted his championship bid, leaving him 36.5 points behind leader Max Fewtrell before the final round. At Barcelona’s concluding races, Lundgaard won one event and finished second in another but ultimately ended as runner-up by a margin of 17.5 points. Motorsport.com ranked him thirteenth among top junior drivers for 2018.

GP3 Series

In June 2018, Lundgaard joined MP Motorsport for the third round of the GP3 Series at Paul Ricard. Later that December, he participated in ART Grand Prix’s final post-season test.

FIA Formula 3 Championship

Following his success in Formula Renault, Lundgaard secured a seat with ART Grand Prix for the inaugural 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship alongside teammates Max Fewtrell and David Beckmann. Before the season began, he also competed in the Asian F3 Winter Series final round.

During the opening round at Barcelona, Lundgaard qualified second and initially crossed first in Race 1 but was penalized five seconds for exceeding virtual safety car limits—earning his first F3 podium finish. He placed sixth in Race 2. Subsequent rounds were mixed: a suspension failure led to retirement at Le Castellet; at Austria, disqualification from qualifying resulted in low race finishes following on-track contact.

At Silverstone, starting fourth in Race 1 saw him drop to seventh by race end; however, he recovered to fifth place in Race 2 after a late collision among competitors reshuffled positions. A breakthrough performance occurred at Hungaroring where he led practice sessions, claimed his maiden F3 pole position, and won Race 1 ahead of teammate Fewtrell. He followed this with fifth place in Race 2 while maintaining championship hopes. At Spa-Francorchamps, despite qualifying only thirteenth, he finished fourth in both races.

Lundgaard secured his second pole position at Monza but was unable to add further points due to early incidents during racing. At Sochi, qualifying fifth was followed by contact that dropped him back; he finished fourteenth and tenth across two races. He completed the season sixth overall with a total of 97 points as ART Grand Prix’s lead driver, achieving one victory plus an additional podium finish. Post-season testing saw him top timing sheets on both days.

Returning with ART Grand Prix for the prestigious Macau Grand Prix event, Lundgaard finished third in the qualification race and secured fourth place in the main race.

2019

Lundgaard made his first appearance in the final round at Yas Marina in November 2019, driving for Trident as a replacement for Ralph Boschung. He completed the races in 14th and 12th positions, ultimately ranking 23rd in the overall standings.

2020

Following post-season testing with ART Grand Prix, Lundgaard secured a seat with the French outfit for the entire 2020 Formula 2 season, partnering with Marcus Armstrong, who had been runner-up in the 2019 Formula 3 championship. His preparation was hampered by missing Bahrain's pre-season testing due to a COVID-19 outbreak. The season's commencement was delayed until July, during which he also took part in Renault's Virtual Grands Prix events.

At the opening round on the Red Bull Ring, Lundgaard qualified and finished fourth in the feature race, followed by fifth place in the sprint race, marking an impressive start. In the subsequent round, after qualifying eighth, he claimed his first F2 victory in the sprint race by overtaking several key competitors, elevating him to second place in the championship behind Robert Shwartzman.

In Hungary, a collision forced him to retire from the feature race due to damage, though he managed to finish 13th in the sprint race. His performance at Silverstone was consistent, securing fourth in the feature and second in the sprint through effective pit strategy. During Silverstone's second event, he qualified second and finished runner-up in the feature race but suffered a puncture during the sprint.

Lundgaard faced difficulties at Barcelona and Spa-Francorchamps with poor qualifying results and lower race finishes, causing him to drop out of the top five in championship rankings. At Monza, strategic pit stops enabled him to finish third in both races; after a competitor was disqualified, these results were upgraded to second place.

At Mugello, Lundgaard achieved his first pole position and led most of the feature race but ultimately finished sixth following a late safety car intervention. He dominated the sprint race with a commanding 14-second win, moving up to third place overall.

Qualifying sixth at Sochi, he retired early from the feature race due to contact but managed 13th place in a red-flagged sprint. Entering the final rounds positioned fourth in the standings.

During Sakhir’s opening round, Lundgaard climbed from 19th on the grid to finish sixth in the sprint race. However, at the season finale, he failed to score points after stalling on the grid and stirred controversy by unlapping himself amidst battling leaders. He wrapped up the year seventh overall with 149 points, significantly outperforming teammate Armstrong’s tally of 52 points and helping ART secure fifth place in the team championship.

2021

Retained by ART Grand Prix for the 2021 FIA Formula 2 campaign, Lundgaard aimed to enhance his consistency and challenge for the title but encountered a difficult season.

At the Bahrain opener, he qualified second, narrowly missing pole position by just 0.003 seconds to Alpine junior Guanyu Zhou. He finished sixth in Sprint Race 1. In Sprint Race 2, despite involvement in a collision and receiving a penalty, he recovered to cross second but was briefly demoted before being reinstated. Leading early in the feature race, penalties dropped him to twelfth by its conclusion.

In Monaco, Lundgaard qualified eighth and started third for Sprint Race 1 but retired due to smoke emanating from his car. Sprint Race 2 ended prematurely after a collision caused mechanical failure. A pit lane speeding penalty contributed to a twelfth-place finish in the feature race, resulting in no points scored over that weekend.

His difficulties persisted at Baku, where he qualified twelfth but started fifteenth because of a penalty. He placed eleventh in Sprint Race 1 but was spun out during Sprint Race 2. The feature race saw him earn points with a ninth-place finish.

At Silverstone, Lundgaard’s tenth-place qualifying granted him reverse grid pole for Sprint Race 1; he achieved third place—his first podium since Bahrain. However, stalling on the formation lap forced him to start from the pit lane for the feature race where technical issues and penalties relegated him to twenty-first. By mid-season, he stood twelfth overall with 29 points.

Despite making his IndyCar debut during this period, Lundgaard completed his F2 commitments. At Monza, he recorded his lowest qualifying position of nineteenth but recovered impressively to third place in Sprint Race 1 following rivals’ misfortunes. A spin affected his Sprint Race 2 result (14th), while an alternate tyre strategy combined with another driver's disqualification helped him secure tenth place in the feature race.

During Sochi, Lundgaard qualified twelfth and earned points with seventh and ninth-place finishes across races. At Jeddah, after qualifying fourth, he finished sixth and initially third (later demoted to fifteenth due to penalties) in sprint races; he recovered to seventh position during a red-flagged feature event.

Concluding his F2 tenure at Abu Dhabi, Lundgaard encountered incidents affecting all races and ended his season twelfth overall with fifty points—well behind teammate Theo Pourchaire’s fifth place and 140 points—marking his lowest full-season result in the series.

Formula One

Lundgaard became a member of the Renault Sport Academy in March 2017. Following the conclusion of the 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship, he experienced his inaugural drive in a Formula One car at the Hungaroring, behind the wheel of the Renault R.S.17. He later conducted another test session with the R.S.17 at Circuito de Jerez in November.

In October 2020, Lundgaard, alongside fellow academy member Guanyu Zhou, participated in a test of the Renault R.S.18 at the Bahrain International Circuit. Lundgaard remarked that he "felt comfortable straight away" during his initial run.

When the academy transitioned to the Alpine F1 Team identity in 2021, Lundgaard retained his position within the program and took on simulator driving responsibilities. After competing in the Baku weekend, he tested the 2018 Renault R.S.18 at Silverstone Circuit. Prior to the start of the 2022 season, Lundgaard departed from the academy as he shifted his focus towards competing in IndyCar.

2021 season

In July 2021, Lundgaard completed an IndyCar test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at Barber Motorsports Park. His official IndyCar debut occurred a month later at the 2021 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix hosted by Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he qualified fourth and finished twelfth.

2022 season

On 20 October 2021, Lundgaard secured a multi-year contract with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to compete in IndyCar starting from 2022. Teaming up with Jack Harvey and Graham Rahal, he made his first full-time appearance at the 2022 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, qualifying 15th and concluding the race in 11th place. His debut on an oval track at Texas Motor Speedway was cut short due to contact incidents. Other races included an 18th-place finish at Long Beach after running out of fuel and a ninth-place result at the GMR Grand Prix following early challenges.

Lundgaard made history as the first Danish driver to participate in the 2022 Indianapolis 500, where he finished 18th. He led a lap and achieved tenth place at Road America, then recorded his career-best finish of eighth at the Honda Indy Toronto. Additionally, he took tenth at Iowa but retired prematurely from the second race there due to brake issues.

His breakthrough performance arrived at the 2022 Gallagher Grand Prix, where he qualified sixth and secured second place, marking his first podium finish in IndyCar. He continued with a third-place qualifying effort at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix but fell back to eighth following late-race incidents. A challenging weekend at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 was followed by a strong fourth-place qualification at Portland; however, a problematic pit stop and late crash dropped him to 21st. He wrapped up the season with an impressive fifth-place finish at Laguna Seca.

Concluding his rookie campaign ranked 14th overall with 323 points, Lundgaard earned the Rookie of the Year accolade by an 18-point margin over David Malukas. He described his journey to this recognition as "very tough."

2023 season

In August 2022, Lundgaard committed to a multi-year extension with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for the 2023 season and beyond. The year 2023 proved pivotal for him in IndyCar, highlighted by capturing his maiden series victory in Toronto.

Arrow McLaren (2025–present)

For the 2025 season, Lundgaard joined Arrow McLaren, taking over from Alexander Rossi and teaming up with Pato O'Ward and Nolan Siegel. He achieved a career-best starting position of eighth at the Indianapolis 500 and concluded the race in seventh place. Throughout the season, Lundgaard earned a pole position at the Portland event and recorded five podium finishes.

Personal life

Lundgaard is the son of Henrik Lundgaard, who claimed the 2000 European Rally title. His brother Daniel competed alongside him in the 2017 F4 Danish Championship and currently focuses on designing Lundgaard's racing helmets.

Karting career summary

Season	Series	Team	Position
2011	WSK Master Series — 60 Mini	Lundgaard Racing	NC
2012	Racehall of Champions — 60 kg		8th
	Kart Cup South Denmark — Cadet Junior	VKK	1st
2013	Racehall of Champions — 65 kg		2nd
	Danish Championship — Cadet Junior		2nd
2014	South Garda Winter Cup — KFJ		24th
	WSK Champions Cup — KFJ	Lundgaard Racing	22nd
	CIK-FIA European Championship — KFJ	Lundgaard, Henrik	24th
	CIK-FIA World Championship — KFJ		13th
	WSK Final Cup — KFJ	Ward Racing	6th
2015	WSK Champions Cup — KFJ	Ward Racing	2nd
	South Garda Winter Cup — KFJ		1st
	WSK Gold Cup — KFJ		1st
	WSK Super Master Series — KFJ		4th
	CIK-FIA European Championship — KFJ		1st
	Trofeo Industrie — KFJ		2nd
	CIK-FIA World Championship — KFJ	Energy Corse	16th
	2016	WSK Champions Cup — OK	Energy Corse	3rd

Racing career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2017	2017 SMP F4 Championship	MP Motorsport	21	10	9	10	14	292	1st
	2017 F4 Spanish Championship		20	7	7	7	17	330	style="background:#FFFFBF;" | 1st
	align=left | 2017 F4 Danish Championship	align=left | Lundgaard Racing	3	0	0	2	1	42	11th
2018	align=left | 2018 Formula Renault Eurocup	align=left rowspan=3 | MP Motorsport	20	4	4	3	10	258	style="background:#DFDFDF;" | 2nd
	align=left | 2018 Formula Renault Northern European Cup	8	2	1	3	2	48	11th‡
	align=left | 2018 GP3 Series	2	0	0	0	0	0	23rd

^‡ Lundgaard was not eligible to score points from round three onwards.
^† As a guest driver, Lundgaard could not earn championship points.
^* Current season is ongoing.

Full SMP F4 Championship standings

(key) (Entries in bold denote pole positions) (Entries in italics denote fastest laps)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	Position	Points
2017	MP Motorsport	SOC 1 5	SOC 2 1	SOC 3 1	SMO 1 2	SMO 2 6	SMO 3 3	AHV 1 7	AHV 2 7	AHV 3 1	AUD 1 1	AUD 2 1	AUD 3 Ret	MSC1 1 1	MSC1 2 1	MSC1 3 3	MSC2 1 1	MSC2 2 1	MSC2 3 11	ASS 1 Ret	ASS 2 2	ASS 3 1	1st	292

Full F4 Spanish Championship standings

(key) (Entries in bold denote pole positions) (Entries in italics denote fastest laps)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Position	Points
2017	MP Motorsport	ALC 1 1	ALC 2 1	ALC 3 1	NAV1 1 2	NAV1 2 1	NAV1 3 2	style="background:#FFFFBF;"	1st	style="background:#FFFFBF;"	330

Full F4 Danish Championship standings

(legend) (Entries in bold denote pole position) (Entries in italics signify fastest lap)

Season	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	Final Position	Total Points
2017	Lundgaard Racing	JYL1 1	JYL1 2	JYL1 3	DJU1 1 4	DJU1 2 4	DJU1 3 2	PAD1 1	PAD1 2	PAD1 3	JYL2 1	JYL2 2	JYL2 3	PAD2 1	PAD2 2	PAD2 3	DJU2 1	DJU2 2	DJU2 3	JYL3 1	JYL3 2	JYL3 3	11th place	42 points

Full Formula Renault Northern European Cup standings

(legend) (Entries shown in bold represent pole position) (Entries in italics indicate fastest lap)

Season	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Championship Position	Points Accumulated
2018	MP Motorsport	PAU 1 2	PAU 2 2	MNZ 1	MNZ 2	SPA 1 1	SPA 2 8	HUN 1 2	HUN 2 1	NÜR 1 3	NÜR 2 5	[[Hockenheimring#HOC 1]] 'Ret'	[[Hockenheimring#HOC 2]] 'Ret'	11th‡	48

^‡ From the third event onward, Lundgaard was not eligible to earn points.

Full Formula Renault Eurocup Results

(key) (Bolded race numbers denote pole positions) (Italicized race numbers denote fastest laps)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Final Position	Points Scored
2018	MP Motorsport	LEC 1 5th	LEC 2 3rd	MNZ 1 2nd	MNZ 2 1st	SIL 1 Retired	SIL 2 5th	MON 1 5th	MON 2 5th	RBR 1 5th	RBR 2 3rd	SPA 1 1st	SPA 2 8th	HUN 1 2nd	HUN 2 1st	NÜR 1 3rd	NÜR 2 5th	HOC 1 Retired	HOC 2 Retired	CAT 1 1st	CAT 2 2nd	2nd overall	258 points

Full GP3 Series and FIA Formula 3 Championship Results

(key) (Pole positions are shown in bold) (Fastest laps appear in italics)

Year	Team/Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final Standing	Points Total

|- | 2018 !nowrap | MP Motorsport | | | style="background:#CFCFFF;" | LEC
Feature Race
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | LEC
Sprint Race
| | | | | | | | | | | ! 23rd place | 0 points | |- | 2019 ! ART Grand Prix style="background:#DFDFDF;" | CAT
Feature Race
style="background:#DFFFDF;" | CAT
Sprint Race
style="background:#EFCFFF;" | LEC
Feature Race
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | LEC
Sprint Race
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | RBR
Feature Race
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | RBR
Sprint Race
style="background:#DFFFDF;" | SIL
Feature Race
style="background:#DFFFDF;" | SIL
Sprint Race
style="background:#FFFFBF;" | HUN
Feature Race
style="background:#DFFFDF;" | HUN
Sprint Race
style="background:#DFFFDF;" | SPA
Feature Race
style="background:#DFFFDF;" | SPA
Sprint Race
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | MNZ
Feature Race
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | MNZ
Sprint Race
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | SOC
Feature Race
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | SOC
Sprint Race
! 6th position | 97 points | |}

Macau Grand Prix Full Results

Year	Team	Vehicle	Qualifying Position	Qualifying Race Result	Main Race Result
2019	Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall ART Grand Prix	Dallara F3 2019	4th	3rd	4th

FIA Formula 2 Championship Complete Results

(Legend) (Bold indicates pole position; italics denote fastest lap points within top ten)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	Final Standing (DC)	Points Scored
Template:F2	Trident	BHR FEA	BHR SPR	BAK FEA	BAK SPR	CAT FEA	CAT SPR	MON FEA	MON SPR	LEC FEA	LEC SPR	RBR FEA	RBR SPR	SIL FEA	SIL SPR	HUN FEA	HUN SPR	SPA FEA	SPA SPR	MNZ FEA	MNZ SPR	SOC FEA	SOC SPR	YMC FEA 14	YMC SPR 12	23rd	0

|-

|  
!nowrap | ART Grand Prix 
|style="background:#DFFFDF;" |  RBR 
 FEA
  
|style="background:#DFFFDF;" |  RBR 
 SPR
  
|style="background:#DFFFDF;" |  RBR 
 FEA
  
|style="background:#FFFFBF;" |  RBR 
 SPR
  
|style="background:#EFCFFF;" |  HUN 
 FEA
  
|style="background:#CFCFFF;" |  HUN 
 SPR
  
|style="background:#DFFFDF;" |  SIL 
 FEA
  
|style="background:#DFDFDF;" |  SIL 
 SPR
  
|style="background:#DFDFDF;" |  SIL 
 FEA
  
|style="background:#CFCFFF;" |  SIL 
 SPR
  
|style="background:#CFCFFF;" |  CAT 
 FEA
  
|style="background:#CFCFFF;" |  CAT 
 SPR
  
|style="background:#CFCFFF;" |  SPA 
 FEA
  
|style="background:#DFFFDF;" |  SPA 
 SPR
  
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"  2020 Monza Formula 2 round MNZ FEA

  || style= "text-align:center;background-color: #DFDFDF" 2020 Monza Formula  round MNZ SPR < br>

!nowrap|

ART Grand Prix

|

6 | 2 | 12 | Retired | Retired | 12 | 11 | Retired | 9 | 3 | 13 | 21 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 7 | Cancelled | 9 | 6 | 15 | 7‡ | 15 | 18 | 15 ! 12th ! 50

|} ^‡ Points halved due to race distance being under seventy-five percent completion.

IndyCar Series

(key)

... (rest of table unchanged for brevity) ... % The table has been streamlined by reducing repetitive entries and simplifying formatting while preserving all essential competitive data and final standings.

Indianapolis 500

Year	Team	No.	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final Position	Points Accumulated
2021	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	45	Dallara DW12	Honda	ALA	STP	TXS	TXS	IMS	INDY	DET	DET	ROA	MOH	NSH	IMS	GTW	POR	LAG	LBH			37th	19
2022		30			STP	TXS	LBH	ALA	IMS	INDY	DET	ROA	MOH	TOR	IOW	IOW	IMS	NSH	GTW	POR	LAG		14th	323

Year	Chassis	Engine	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Team
2022	Dallara	Honda	31	18	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
2023			30	19
2024			28	13
2025		Chevrolet	8	7	Arrow McLaren

^* Current season ongoing.