Patricio "Pato" O'Ward Junco (born 6 May 1999) is a Mexican professional

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

driver who competes full-time in the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...

, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for

Arrow McLaren The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren, competing as Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team due to sponsorship, is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports (SSM). The team operates the N ...

. He is the 2018

Indy Lights Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Roa ...

champion. He is signed to the

McLaren Driver Development Programme The McLaren Driver Development Programme, formerly known as the McLaren Young Driver Programme, is a driver development programme operated by McLaren. It is intended to offer year-by-year guidance, assistance and endorsement to help promising y ...

and is currently McLaren's reserve driver for their

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

team.

Early life and career

O'Ward was born in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, Mexico to Patricio O'Ward and Elba Junco. He attended high school in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Texas, US. He explained on an episode of ''The Marshall Pruett Podcast'' that his surname comes from his Irish great-grandfather, adding that he considers himself "full-blown

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

". O'Ward began his racing career in karting at the end of 2005 and remained in karting until 2012. During 2013, he competed in

open-wheel racing Formula racing, also known as open-wheel racing in North America, is any of several forms of Open-wheel car, open-wheeled single-seater Auto racing, motorsport. A "formula", first devised by Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA for ...

, in Latam Fórmula 2000, Formula Renault 1.6 NEC and

Pacific F2000 Hoosier Racing Tires presents the Pacific F2000 Championship is an American open-wheel racing series designed for the entry-level and veteran-level drivers. The Pacific F2000 Racing Series offers 12 racing opportunities over six weekends at lead ...

. In 2014, O'Ward competed in

French F4 Championship French F4 Championship, formerly known as Formula Renault Campus France, Formula Campus, Formul'Academy Euro Series, F4 Eurocup 1.6 is a form of open wheel racing founded in 1993 by Louis Drouet. It is based in France and aims at karting gradua ...

. In

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, O'Ward debuted in the

Pro Mazda Championship The USF Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, formerly known as the Star Mazda Championship, Pro Mazda Championship, and later Indy Pro 2000 Championship, is an open-wheel racing series serving as the third step on the Road to Indy l ...

with

Team Pelfrey Team Pelfrey is an American racing team in the F1600 Championship Series and F2000 Championship Series. The team is owned by Dale Pelfrey. Indy Racing League (1998–2000) John Paul Jr. replaced Danny Ongais as driver for the 1998 Indianapolis ...

, finishing sixth in the championship. In

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, O'Ward returned to compete with Team Pelfrey in the Pro Mazda Championship, finishing the season as championship runner-up.

Indy Lights

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, O'Ward signed with

Andretti Autosport Andretti Global is an American motorsports organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, Indy NXT, Formula E, and joint entries in IMSA and the Australian Supercars Championship. Starting in 2026, Andretti will also operate the Cad ...

to compete in the

championship. He won nine of the 17 races, was named ''Rookie of the Year'' and won the drivers championship at the penultimate race of the season in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, beating runner-up

Colton Herta Colton Thomas Herta (born March 30, 2000) is an American auto racing, racing driver who competes in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series for Andretti Autosport, Andretti Global with Curb Agajanian Performance Group, Curb Agajanian. He is the yo ...

IndyCar

IndyCar debut with Harding Racing (2018)

Two weeks after clinching the 2018 Indy Lights championship title, O'Ward made his

debut at

Sonoma Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway, Golden State International Raceway and Infineon Technologies, Infineon Raceway) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, Cal ...

in a second

Harding Racing file:Harding Racing Logo.png, Harding Racing logo prior to partnership Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport was an auto racing team that competed in the IndyCar Series. Founded as Harding Racing in 2017 by businessman Mike Harding, the team wo ...

entry, where he qualified fifth and finished ninth. This tied him with David Martínez for the best finish on debut by a Mexican driver in American open-wheel racing.

Part-time drive with Carlin (2019)

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, O'Ward was scheduled to move up to the

full-time, piloting the No. 8 entry for

Harding Steinbrenner Racing Harding Racing logo prior to partnership Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport was an auto racing team that competed in the IndyCar Series. Founded as Harding Racing in 2017 by businessman Mike Harding, the team would form partnerships in 2019 ...

. However, sponsorship issues led to O'Ward being granted his release from the team on 11 February 2019. On 7 March, O'Ward joined Carlin on a part-time deal that saw him drive in 13 races in the 2019 season. O'Ward drove Carlin's second entry for 12 races and drove Carlin's third entry for the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

. O'Ward failed to qualify for the

Indy 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

along with Carlin teammate

Max Chilton Maximilian Alexander Chilton (born 21 April 1991) is a British former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Redhill, Surrey, Chilton is the younger brother of racing driver Tom Chilton. He competed in the GP ...

and the Carlin-prepared car of

McLaren Racing McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...

. His Red Bull deal, which was signed in May, also saw him only compete in eight of the 13 events he originally signed for. He placed 26th in the final points standings, with the best race finish of eighth, achieved at the

Circuit of the Americas Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located in Austin, Texas, United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand Pr ...

. On 30 October, it was announced that O'Ward had returned to IndyCar by signing a deal with

Arrow McLaren SP The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren, competing as Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team due to sponsorship, is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports (SSM). The team operates the N ...

for the 2020 season.

Arrow McLaren (2020–present)

2020

In his first season for Arrow McLaren SP (AMSP), O'Ward was partnered by

Oliver Askew Oliver Clark Askew (born December 12, 1996) is an American racing driver. He is the 2019 Indy Lights champion. Racing career Early career Askew began karting at the age of 8 in Jupiter. He finished third and sixth in the Rotax Max Challenge Gra ...

for most races, with

Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He competes part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 06 Dallara-Honda for Meyer Shank Racing. He is one of four drivers to have w ...

replacing Askew at the Harvest GP and with

in a third entry at the

. O'Ward had a strong start to 2020, clinching pole position and achieving his first podium finish at the second round of the Road America double-header, finishing second. At

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, he finished fourth in the first race. He was fourth in the overall points standings heading into the Indianapolis 500, which was held in August due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. O'Ward would go on to finish sixth in his first Indianapolis 500 start and won the

Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year The Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year is awarded annually to the racing driver deemed to have been the best performing rookie in the Indianapolis 500. Criteria include drivers' performance during practice, qualifying, and the race, their rela ...

award for his performance. He subsequently scored consecutive podium finishes in the double-header at

World Wide Technology Raceway Gateway Motorsports Park (currently known as World Wide Technology Raceway for sponsorship reasons) is a motor racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a oval that hosts the NASCAR Cup ...

. O'Ward was placing as high as third in the driver standings before finishing eleventh and ninth at the double-header at

Mid-Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington, Ohio, Lexington. It hosts a number of racing series such as IndyCar Series, Indy ...

and a disappointing 22nd place at the first race of the Harvest GP double-header at

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

, which dropped him to fifth in the overall standings. After signing a new deal with AMSP, he finished second in the season finale at

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, securing fourth in the final championship standings.

2021

O'Ward's second season with Arrow McLaren SP saw him partner

Felix Rosenqvist Karl Felix Helmer Rosenqvist (born 7 November 1991) is a Swedish professional racing driver who currently drives the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the NTT IndyCar Series. He was named Rookie of the Year for the IndyCar Series in 2019. ...

, previously of

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization competing in the NTT IndyCar Series. They have formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, Global Rally ...

. O'Ward emerged as a title contender in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. He started the season off by earning his second career pole position at the season opener at

Barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...

but was unable to convert that pole position into a win. O'Ward took his first podium of the season with a third-place finish in the first race at the

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway (formerly known as Texas International Raceway from September to December 1996) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It has hosted various major races since its inaugura ...

and took his maiden IndyCar victory in the second race the following day. He became the first Mexican driver to win an IndyCar race since

Adrian Fernandez Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the main ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone * Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi ...

and the first Chevrolet driver not from

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Day ...

to win a race since 2016. After taking his first win, O'Ward never dropped lower than third in the championship standings, consistently fending off series champions

Josef Newgarden Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American racing driver who races the No. 2 Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet in the IndyCar Series. He was the 2011 Indy Lights champion, and 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion. He won the 2 ...

and

Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a New Zealand racing driver who races the 9 Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) Dallara DW12-Honda car in the IndyCar Series. He is a six-time drivers' champion of the IndyCar Series, having claimed the title in ...

while challenging

Álex Palou Álex Palou Montalbo (; born 1 April 1997) is a Spanish racing driver who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar Series, where he won the 2021 IndyCar Series, 2021, 2023 IndyCar Series, 2023, and 2024 IndyCar Series, 2024 championships a ...

for much of the season. He started on the pole and finished third at the first race at the Detroit double-header and scored his second win of the season at the second race, his first win on a street course. He achieved his third pole position of the season at the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix, where he eventually finished fifth in the race. He achieved another podium with a second-place finish at Gateway, taking the championship lead for the first time in the season. However, a 14th-place finish at

by O'Ward saw race-winner Palou retake the lead. At the penultimate race of the season, he clinched a fifth-place finish, remaining second in the points standings heading into the season finale. At the season finale at

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, O'Ward was one of three drivers who were mathematically in contention for the series title, alongside Palou and Newgarden. To win the title, barring Palou retiring from the race, O'Ward would have to earn the bonus point from qualifying for the pole position, win the race, and hope Palou finished no better than thirteenth to not have a tiebreaker scenario come into play. After a controversial qualifying session where he failed to advance to the Firestone Fast Six and qualified eighth, O'Ward was taken out by Ed Jones early in the race and ultimately retired from the race due to a broken driveshaft, effectively ending his championship hopes. He ultimately finished third in the championship behind Palou and Newgarden. O'Ward secured his first IndyCar track discipline championship when he won the A.J. Foyt Cup as the highest-scoring driver in the series on oval courses in 2021.

2022

O'Ward would return to Arrow McLaren SP in a contract year. He started the season slowly before capturing his first win of the season and first on a permanent road course at the fourth round at Barber. On 27 May 2022, O'Ward announced he had signed a three-year contract extension with Arrow McLaren SP. O'Ward followed up his new contract with a second-place finish in the 106th Indianapolis 500, briefly nosing ahead of

Marcus Ericsson Marcus Thorbjörn Ericsson (born 2 September 1990) is a Swedish racing driver, who competes in the IndyCar Series for Andretti Global, Andretti. Ericsson competed in Formula One from to . In American open-wheel racing, Ericsson won the India ...

for the lead on the final lap but was unable to complete the pass. After a difficult four race stint that saw him retire with mechanical issues in back to back races O'Ward picked up a second win on the season and first on a short oval at the second round at

. He ultimately finished seventh in the championship standings.

2023

O'Ward had a strong start to

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, with three second-place finishes in the first five races. His performance in the third round at

, however, was subject to criticism after he attempted an overtake on Scott Dixon that caused Dixon to crash out of the race. O'Ward started fifth at the

2023 Indianapolis 500 The 2023 Indianapolis 500, branded as the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons, was a 500-mile (804.7 km, 200 lap) race in the 2023 IndyCar Series, held on Sunday, May 28, at the Indianapol ...

, his best starting position in the race to date, but crashed out of the race fighting for the second place with Marcus Ericsson. He ultimately finished fourth in the championship, picking up no wins but having the most podium finishes and top five finishes of his career.

2024

O'Ward started his

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

campaign with a second place in St. Petersburg. Over a month later, O'Ward was awarded the win at St. Petersburg after race winner Josef Newgarden was found to have violated push to pass regulations and was subsequently stripped of the victory. O'Ward led 11 laps and finished second in the

2024 Indianapolis 500 The 2024 Indianapolis 500, branded as the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons, was a 500-mile (804.5 km, 200 lap) race in the 2024 IndyCar Series, that was held on Sunday, May 26, 2024, at t ...

, following a last-lap pass from winner Josef Newgarden. After picking up a series of top ten finishes after the Indianapolis 500, O'Ward scored his 2nd win of the year at

by holding off polesitter Alex Palou in the final laps of the

Honda Indy 200 The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio is an IndyCar Series race held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Professional open wheel races at the facility date back to 1970. The U.S. Formula 5000 series ran from 1970 to 1976, and the revived ...

. With his win O'Ward became the first driver to win a race in IndyCar's hybrid powertrain era. O'Ward picked up a third win at the first race at IndyCar's return to the

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectat ...

, securing his first season of more than two wins on the year.

Formula One

Stint with Red Bull Junior Team

In May 2019, O'Ward was signed to the

Red Bull Junior Team The Red Bull Junior Team is a driver development programme operated by Austrian conglomerate company Red Bull GmbH to identify and develop talent in open-wheel racing. Members of the Junior Team are financed and sponsored by Red Bull in kart ...

and the following month, was placed on a one-event deal to compete at the Red Bull Ring in Formula 2, substituting for the banned

Mahaveer Raghunathan Mahaveer Raghunathan (born 17 November 1998) is an Indian racing driver. He is currently competing in the Italian GT Championship with Lazarus Corse and is also an AMR Junior Team driver. Career Junior series Raghunathan started his rac ...

, and was announced as

Dan Ticktum Daniel Charles Anthony Ticktum (born 8 June 1999) is a British racing driver, who competes in Formula E for Kiro Race Co. Born in London, Ticktum began competitive kart racing aged eight, winning several national titles. Graduating to junior f ...

's replacement in the

Super Formula Championship The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series held primarily in Japan. It is considered to be the pinnacle of single-seater racing in Japan or Asia as a whole, making it one of the top motorsport series in the region. The ...

. Due to a decision by the FIA to award fewer Super License points for O'Ward's Indy Lights championship win, O'Ward was unable to attain the required points to be able to race

in 2020 and would not be retained by Red Bull past 2019. With an IndyCar series ride with McLaren available, Red Bull driver development program head

Helmut Marko Helmut Marko (born 27 April 1943) is an Austrian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing, Marko won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in with Martini. He founded RSM Marko in 1989, and ...

granted O'Ward an early release from his contract after three Super Formula rounds.

McLaren

Before the

2021 IndyCar Series The 2021 NTT IndyCar Series was the 26th season of the IndyCar Series and the 110th official championship season of American open wheel racing. The premier event was the 2021 Indianapolis 500, won by Hélio Castroneves (Meyer Shank Racing). It ...

season,

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

CEO

Zak Brown Zakary Challen Brown (born November 7, 1971) is an American motorsports executive, currently serving as the chief executive officer of McLaren Racing. Born and raised in California, Brown raced professionally around the world for ten years befor ...

promised O'Ward a test of the McLaren MCL35M if he could win at least one IndyCar race. O'Ward held up his end of the deal with

after winning the

XPEL 375 The IndyCar Series held auto racing events at Texas Motor Speedway, near Fort Worth, Texas, from 1997 until 2023. The races had a variety of different title sponsors and distances over the years, and therefore the Texas round has changed names fr ...

and Brown subsequently confirmed O'Ward would get the promised F1 test. O'Ward got his first opportunity to drive a Formula One Car on 14 November 2021, when he demonstrated a McLaren MP4/13 at Laguna Seca. Two time Formula One World Champion

Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968) is a Finnish former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Finn", Häkkinen won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with M ...

, who drove the MP4/13 to his first Driver's Championship, was on hand to help familiarize O'Ward with the car. During the run, O'Ward beat his fastest lap time around Laguna Seca in the

Dallara DW12 The Dallara DW12 (formally named the Dallara IR-12) is an open-wheel formula racing, formula auto racing, racing car developed and produced by Italian manufacturer Dallara for use by the cars in the IndyCar Series. The DW12 was first used in the ...

with the UAK18 aero kit by over a second with the MP4/13. On 14 December 2021, O'Ward tested the MCL35M at the end of the season in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, where he finished fourth-fastest after completing 92 laps. Despite speculation that the test could lead to O'Ward moving up to Formula 1 upon a strong performance, Brown dismissed those rumors by confirming O'Ward would be back with McLaren in IndyCar for the 2022 season, following McLaren's purchase of 75% ownership stake in

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren, competing as Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team due to sponsorship, is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports (SSM). The team operates the N ...

. Brown later stated that the Abu Dhabi test could lead to O'Ward getting additional Formula One tests and even race weekend practice time, if O'Ward adapts to the car and the tires well, but added that O'Ward would have to win the IndyCar Series championship for McLaren to consider moving him from IndyCar to Formula One. In July 2022, O'Ward was confirmed for additional Formula One tests with McLaren along with late season race weekend practice time being a possibility. In September 2022, it was announced that O'Ward would carry out another test with McLaren at the

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya () is a motorsport race track in Montmeló, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit. The track has stands ...

together with

. He participated in another test at the

Red Bull Ring The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Austria, Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from t ...

in October, together with Álex Palou once again. O'Ward made his free practice debut with McLaren at the

2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix The 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2022) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 20 November 2022 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Max Verstappe ...

. In April 2023, McLaren formed a new

Driver Development Programme A driver development program, also known as a driver development team or driver academy, is a system or structure designed to identify and develop talent in auto racing. Programs are typically offered to drivers aged 12 to 25 in junior racing cat ...

with O'Ward signed to it. In September, McLaren announced that O'Ward will participate in the

2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix The 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2023) was a Formula One motor race held on 26 November 2023 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was the twenty-seco ...

free practice session. In November, McLaren announced that O'Ward would be one of their reserve drivers for the 2024 season. O'Ward made his first free practice appearance of the 2024 season during the

Mexico City Grand Prix The Mexican Grand Prix (), currently held under the name Mexico City Grand Prix (), is a motor racing event held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. It first appeared as a non-championship event in 1962 before being held as a ...

, and finished the session in 13th. This marked the first time that O'Ward competed in a Formula One session within his home country. O'Ward is set to make his free practice return during the season, at his home once again for

Sports car racing

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, O'Ward competed in the

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

with Performance Tech Motorsports in the Prototype Challenge (PC) class. O'Ward and his co-drivers won the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...

and the

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race for Sports car racing, sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in S ...

in the PC class, making him the youngest driver ever to win both races, at 17 years old. He went on to win the 2017 Prototype Challenge drivers championship, alongside James French, and the North American Endurance Cup, alongside French and Kyle Masson. In 2022, O'Ward participated again in the

in the

LMP2 A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le M ...

entry with

DragonSpeed DragonSpeed Racing is an American auto racing team that competes in the European Le Mans Series, FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2019, the team entered the NTT IndyCar Series with a five race schedule, includin ...

, partnered by

, Devlin DeFrancesco, and

Eric Lux Éric Roger Lux (born 19 December 1967) is a Luxembourgish businessman. He is the CEO of Genii Capital, co-founded with Gerard Lopez, an investment management and financial member of the Genii Group and former owner of the Lotus F1 Team. He ...

. The team won after an overtake by Herta for first place in the final 11 minutes of the race.

Karting record

Karting career summary

Racing record

Racing career summary

^† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.

Complete French F4 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Complete NACAM Formula 4 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

American open-wheel racing results

Pro Mazda Championship

Indy Lights

IndyCar Series

( key) * Season still in progress.

Indianapolis 500

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

^† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Complete Super Formula results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One participations

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oward, Pato 1999 births Living people Mexican racing drivers Mexican Indianapolis 500 drivers FIA Formula 2 Championship drivers Indy Pro 2000 Championship drivers Indy Lights champions Indy Lights drivers IndyCar Series drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Mexican people of Irish descent Team Pelfrey drivers Andretti Autosport drivers Harding Steinbrenner Racing drivers Carlin racing drivers Mugen Motorsports drivers MP Motorsport drivers Arrow McLaren SP drivers Super Formula drivers DragonSpeed drivers French F4 Championship drivers Auto Sport Academy drivers NACAM F4 Championship drivers Racing drivers from Monterrey