There's Another Driver Change At Arrow McLaren After Broken Thumb Sidelines Alexander Rossi

I really can't believe this, but we've got another driver change at Arrow McLaren ahead of this weekend's IndyCar race in Toronto. 

This wasn't the team giving a driver a young leash, it was a matter of necessity after the regular driver of the No. 7 Alexander Rossi sustained a broken thumb in a crash during practice.

His replacement? A guy who recently lost his drive at McLaren, 2023 Formula 2 champ Theo Pourchaire.

So, how on Earth did we get here as McLaren continues to play musical chairs with its lineup?

On Friday afternoon as practice was winding down, Rossi appeared to understeer into Turn 8 — a corner that has caused drivers issues all weekend — and just made contact with the end of the tire barrier. It wasn't the hardest contact you'll ever see, but it sure looked like the IndyCar vet thought he could battle through it and kept his hands on the wheel in a bid to keep the car out of the barrier.

If you know anything about what happens to IndyCar steering wheels in a crash like that, then you can probably understand how Rossi wound up with that broken thumb.

Ow, ow, ow. That is just one of those things that can happen. It's not particularly uncommon either, a similar thing happened to Visa Cash RB F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo last year at Zandvoort and forced him to miss some time with a broken arm.

That really stinks for Rossi, and it's certainly not what he needed as his stint with McLaren winds down.

But the show must go on and McLaren needed a butt in that seat, so who did they call? Pourchaire, who was in Europe when he got the call to fly to Toronto and arrived at the circuit only about an hour before qualifying got underway.

Pourchaire spent a chunk of the season in McLaren's No. 6 which he was driving after original driver David Malukas was injured in a preseason biking accident. However, Pourchaire himself was eventually replaced by current No. 6 driver Noah Siegel.

Pourchaire is a fantastic driver so it's great to see him get another shot at showing what he can do behind the wheel of IndyCar, it just stinks that it comes at Rossi's expense.

IndyCar's race in Toronto will take place on Sunday afternoon.