Pato O’Ward

O'Ward's Road to IndyCar

Pato O'Ward is a Mexican talent who has already secured several titles in his still-young motorsport career. In 2017, he won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the Prototype Class with Performance Tech Motorsports. That same year, he also won the North American Endurance Cup with the same team.

In 2017, O'Ward competed in several Indy Lights races for Team Pelfrey, where he finished on the podium once, placing third in St. Petersburg. In 2018, Pato O'Ward returned to the series full-time with Andretti Autosport. After initially facing stiff competition from teammate Colton Herta, O'Ward ultimately dominated the season, securing the Indy Lights title by winning nine of the seventeen races.

IndyCar Debut in 2018

During the final weekend of the 2018 IndyCar season, O'Ward, along with Indy Lights vice-champion Colton Herta, made his IndyCar debut at Sonoma Raceway with Harding Racing. O'Ward made a strong impression by qualifying fifth and finishing the race in ninth place. Initially, he was confirmed for a full-time season in 2019 with the team, then known as Harding-Steinbrenner Racing, but this ultimately fell through as the team was unable to secure an engine deal for two cars.

Challenges with Carlin and the Red Bull Junior Program

Despite the deal with Harding-Steinbrenner Racing falling through, O'Ward managed to secure a last-minute agreement to race in thirteen of the seventeen races for Carlin. However, after being admitted to the Red Bull Junior Program for young talented drivers in May, this number was reduced to seven races. O'Ward failed to qualify for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 and would not compete again in the NTT IndyCar Series after the Road America race in June.

Red Bull aimed to focus on European feeder series with O'Ward to eventually guide him towards Formula 1. However, his results in these series were disappointing, leading Red Bull to release the 2018 Indy Lights champion before the end of the racing season.

Success with Arrow McLaren

O'Ward didn't remain without a drive for long, as he was announced at the end of October 2019 as one of the drivers for Arrow McLaren SP for the 2020 IndyCar season. His first full-time NTT IndyCar Series season was a great success. The Mexican driver scored ten top-ten finishes out of fourteen races, with three second-place results as his best finishes, ultimately securing a respectable fourth place in the championship standings.

After a strong 2021 season, 2022 proved to be a significantly tougher year. Despite two wins, eight finishes outside the top ten meant he only managed a seventh-place finish in the championship. In 2023, O'Ward was unable to secure any wins, but seven podium finishes helped him achieve a fourth place in the championship. The 2024 IndyCar season brought O'Ward three victories and three second-place finishes, but since he finished outside the top ten in seven of the seventeen races, he couldn't contend for the title and ended the year in fifth place.