Speaking in the immediate aftermath of this morning’s announcement that Andretti had signed 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Ericsson, who moves from Chip Ganassi Racing, Malukas was insistent that it doesn’t change anything for his future plans.
When asked by Motorsport.com if it narrowed his options in any way, Malukas replied: “His move doesn't really affect anything from my side but obviously it's good for him. From my end, it doesn't really affect anything.”
Malukas, 21, has already confirmed that he won’t stay at Dale Coyne Racing for 2024 as he reaches the end of a two-year deal between the veteran team and his father, trucking magnate Henry Malukas.
In the meantime, his family’s HMD squad has become one of the biggest teams in the Indy NXT series, and it has hinted at moving up into IndyCars in future.
Malukas Jr is confident he’ll be on the grid next year regardless, and said he has no concerns about his future in the series.
“From my side, I’m 100 percent confident,” he said. “I don't have any anxiety or any of that stuff. I think our next year is looking very strong, and yeah, it looks very good.
“I don't know much about what I can say here or there, but all I can say is it looks very good.”
He added that his 2024 deal is “most likely” to be announced after the season finale at Laguna Seca next month, and that his direction isn’t at all dependent on his results in the final three races of the season.
“There’s no more waiting, nothing more to be done,” Malukas added. “From my side, it's just focusing on trying to finish this season strong and looking forward to next season.”
His strongest options are to join Ericsson at Andretti in its fourth entry, where he would also be team-mate to his 2021 Indy Lights nemesis Kyle Kirkwood, or take Ericsson’s former ride at Ganassi.
A more left field possibility would be joining Arrow McLaren, a route that was only recently opened up by the decision of Alex Palou to stay at Ganassi.
