Pato O’Ward is one of the most consistent drivers in IndyCar, although he has yet to reach the podium this season. The Mexican, who races for Arrow McLaren, has secured six top-five finishes in eight races, placing fifth in the overall championship standings.
With a competitive wave marked by the driving strength of Christian Lundgaard, O’Ward’s teammate, who has one win and three podiums, the Mexican finds himself only six points behind the Dane. Meanwhile, Alex Palou from Chip Ganassi Racing has dominated the season with four victories.
O’Ward has faced a series of challenges, including changes in his pit crew and technical issues like the “friction brake” he suffered during the Indianapolis 500 race. Recently in Detroit, his Chevrolet unit was not enough to compete against Honda’s superiority, which took the entire podium, with O’Ward achieving the best result with a fourth-place finish.
According to O’Ward, his current situation is part of Arrow McLaren’s transformation process, which has recently completed a move to new facilities. “With transformation, you can expect some areas to encounter more problems in the short term,” he commented. “Sometimes you have to go backward to go forward, and that’s exactly what’s happening right now”.
The coming days will be decisively crucial for O’Ward, with his participation in the Bommarito 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway, a circuit where he has accumulated five podiums in seven races. This will be a great opportunity to test Arrow McLaren’s progress, and if he wants to have a chance at the title and climb in the standings, O’Ward will need to aim for wins and podiums.
“We need to maximize every weekend,” added O’Ward. “The competition has been superior to us, and that is not acceptable if we want to fight for the title”.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
