Patricio O’Ward

09. Jul 2021

by Ziv Knoll

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Patricio “Pato” O’Ward (born May 6, 1999) is a Mexican racing car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series, driving one of the Arrow McLaren SP team cars. He is the 2018 Indy Light champion.

O’Ward, whose grandfather was Irish, impressed in 2020 in his first year for AMSP, posting a series of top-five finishes, and a 6th place at the Indianapolis 500, and won the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award for his performance. He was naturally retained for the 2021 season.

Again impressive, O’Ward qualified in pole position for the season opener at Barber Motorsports Park and clinched his first win at the XPEL 500 held at the Texas Motor Speedway.

A strong fourth place at the 2021 Indy 500 and a second win on the Detroit road course gave him the lead of the championship, where, after 10 races, he holds second position.

Even before the start of the 2021 season, McLaren boss Zak Brown, impressed by the 22 year-old, promised O’Ward that he would get a test in a McLaren Formule One car. He will test the car at the end of the season in Abu Dhabi.

An impressive and promising young driver indeed, and one to watch closely.