Away from the 20 drivers on the F1 grid, Mexican starling Pato O’Ward is making huge strides in the worlds of motorsports and F1. Affiliated with the McLaren driver’s program, the 24-year-old has one foot firmly planted in IndyCar and the other in Formula One. Having recently driven Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 championship-winning MP4/23, the Mexican will now drive the latest McLaren car in a practice session during the Abu Dhabi GP.
Speaking to Jalopnik in an interview, O’Ward talked about the need for IndyCar to embrace the impact of Formula One on all of motorsports rather than repel it. Referring to the investment made by the sport to boost its reach via Netflix, the Mexican driver spoke of the everlasting presence of F1 within the motorsports realm.
“Formula 1 is never going anywhere. It has invested astronomical numbers into the series and into making people feel like they’re part of something — but they did it by going to the biggest platforms.”
Thus, O’Ward appealed for increased attention to IndyCar by the sport’s governing authorities to generate an increased following. The Mexican believes the authorities do not realize how big their sport can be if they put in the effort. “They’re giving it love, but they need to multiply it by four or five times.”
Pato O’Ward remains the only IndyCar driver vying for a spot in F1
In 2022, McLaren began testing three IndyCar drivers as potential F1 drivers to bolster their squad, hoping for a resurgence. Colton Herta, Alex Palou, and Pato O’Ward were the three drivers in the running, but nearly a year later, only O’Ward remains. The Mexican driver has been hard at work in both disciplines, often offering his services as a test driver for the McLaren F1 team while serving as the full-time driver for the number 5 Arrow McLaren Chevy.
Zak Brown has been noticing the Mexican’s strides during the practice sessions and is keen on bringing the 24-year-old onboard his team. However, until last year, all O’Ward could do with McLaren was test drive for them as he did not have the necessary qualifications for a Super License. Nonetheless, Brown is hoping the stars would soon align and that O’Ward could get his hands on a Super License.
Despite hoping for a future in F1, O’Ward made it clear that his loyalties lie with IndyCar. The Mexican spoke to ESPN about making it clear to his team that he aspires to pick up the world title in IndyCar one day. Should O’Ward receive his license, it would mark a significant event in the world of F1 as the crossover contract would see McLaren house an IndyCar driver in their F1 driver lineup, too, opening the doors for more such moves in the future.
