During his three seasons with Arrow McLaren SP in IndyCar, Pato O’Ward has finished seventh, fourth and third, however the Mexican has admitted that he is not content with staying in IndyCar for the rest of his career.
O’Ward has been signed with McLaren since 2020, which means that he can compete in the IndyCar series with their team while also gaining Formula 1 experience whenever the opportunity arises.
The Mexican will be one of the favourites to challenge for the title in 2023, however O’Ward has suggested that he would be happy to take a break from IndyCar, if a year being more involved with F1 would help his chances of a race seat in the future.
“I feel like I can always come back to IndyCar and the window of getting to Formula 1 is quite a bit narrower,” explained O’Ward.
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“I’m already in IndyCar now and I feel like I’ve established myself as one of the title contenders every single year.
“I love IndyCar racing, it’s some of the best racing in the world, if not the best in terms of how competitive it is.
“But I grew up watching Formula 1 and grew up with the F1 dream as many other drivers around the world, and that’s what kind of opened my love to so many other categories. So I’m still very keen to make the switch to Formula 1.
“Will it happen? When will it happen? I have no idea, but I have a great team behind me.”
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With McLaren’s 2023 line-up consisting of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being a very youthful one, with the drivers being 23 and 21 respectively, the chances of a seat becoming available for the Mexican are slim, meaning that O’Ward may have to look elsewhere if he wishes to join the F1 grid.
O’Ward has suggested that F1 is a “crazy world,” so you can never rule out doors opening that initially seemed locked off, suggesting that he is not prepared to break away from McLaren just yet.
2021 IndyCar champion Alex Palou has recently signed for McLaren as their reserve driver for 2023, giving O’Ward all the evidence he needs to believe that a switch from IndyCar to Formula 1 is possible.