The Arrow McLaren IndyCar team has ended its partnership with Juncos Hollinger Racing due to online abuse directed at McLaren’s Theo Pourchaire by fans of JHR and their driver Agustin Canapino. The two teams joined forces last year to leverage their fan bases, especially in Spanish-speaking markets. However, there was no competition or data sharing on the track involved in the agreement. After Pourchaire collided with Canapino during the Detroit Grand Prix, he received death threats on social media. This is the third time that drivers associated with JHR and Canapino have faced such threats. In response, McLaren terminated its alliance with JHR, stating that it does not tolerate abuse or discrimination. McLaren and Juncos released a joint statement addressing the incident, and Pourchaire also posted about it on social media. Canapino issued his own statement, denying any knowledge of death threats and criticizing those who accused his fan base. McLaren verified the threats received by Pourchaire to ensure they were not mistranslated. Canapino and Juncos remained silent on the matter, which likely contributed to McLaren’s decision to sever ties with JHR. Canapino’s statement faced online criticism, as he claimed to be unaware of the online abuse while interacting with mocking tweets. JHR issued a statement without mentioning the recent events after McLaren confirmed the end of the partnership. IndyCar has been slow to respond, taking 17 hours to issue a brief statement to journalists and remaining silent on their social media channels. There have been minimal consequences for those who threatened Pourchaire after the on-track incident.
