They day has finally arrived for driver Mexican driver Pato O’Ward and it is now being reported that he has officially asked McLaren to relieve him of all of his associated F1 services duties as a reserve, in order for him to now fully chase his new main dream and turn all of his attentions to the IndyCar side of racing life.
The 27 year old has had a long association with the McLaren family, having originally joined them back in 2020 when he agreed and signed terms with Arrow McLaren SP for his first full time IndyCar campaign and adventure, and having tasted early success with the team he was quickly, and suitably, rewarded. Having caught the eye of McLaren CEO Zak Brown he was promoted up a level and took part in the MCL35M F1 test and the 2021 Abu Dhabi young driver test.
Having further impressed he was then integrated into McLaren’s F1 reserve driver programme where he completed private tests at circuits, and took part in numerous FP1 sessions – including in homeland Mexico. The young racing fan had clear moved on from the days where he just took in the Formula 1 live results of a weekend. However, that next step up has never followed despite him being well regarded and respected, and his F1 ambitions of gaining a full time seat have now come to an end.
Having recently been named in McLaren’s 2027 IndyCar line up alongside Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqviat, he has now taken the plunge and let it be known that he is ready to draw the line and no longer wants any involvement in the F1 programmes – basically he has politely requested that they fire him in effect.
Ward’s IndyCar progress has been just as impressive in fairness. Since joining that McLaren set up he has gone on to finish in the top seven in the drivers’ standings in every year since, and came agonizingly close to winning the Indianapolis 500 with the team. With five top six finishes in the last seven years, including two runners up spot positions, it is fully understandable as to why he has now decided to focus in and see how far he can really go in that discipline and make it his priority going forward.
The additional time he will have to train for the Brickyard should result in noticeable fractional second gains on the Speedway and that will obviously have its own reward in time given the consistency that he has already shown. Having had to balance F1, the Abu Dhabi FP1 and his IndyCar commitments, being in more control of his own schedule should be a massive boost to his chance of further improvement.
Having acknowledged that he has now found himself at a ‘different point in his life’ and acted on it, it will be interesting to see what he can now achieve and there is no reason to doubt that Zak Brown will not continue to support him all the way.
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