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<\/p>\nInside a Mexico City shopping mall, fans began shrieking.<\/p>\n
Given the number of people crowding the building, lines of them snaking down its halls, one may think a pop star or a celebrity athlete, like now-former Formula One driver Sergio P\u00e9rez, was making an appearance during the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix weekend.<\/p>\n
But no, all that attention was for the driver who drove during first practice for McLaren that weekend: Pato O\u2019Ward, IndyCar\u2019s biggest star, though only a reserve driver for the Woking-based F1 team.<\/p>\n
The Mexican driver got stuck in traffic and ran, with his bodyguard, two kilometers to the meet-and-greet event. As O\u2019Ward passed people waiting outside, wrapping around the building, someone spotted him.<\/p>\n
When O\u2019Ward hurried into the event, the fans formed a tunnel \u2014 and he described it as \u201cthe loudest screams I\u2019ve ever heard in my life.\u201d He felt \u201clike a pop star.\u201d And the 26-year-old arguably is one, in some respects.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Ward went from making his start with karting in Mexico and the United States to making the move across the Atlantic Ocean for a shot at single-seaters. His dream was F1, but initially being unable to secure enough points for his super license sent him back stateside, joining the junior ranks of the closest series to F1 \u2014 IndyCar. He has flourished in the category, growing his brand and talent while chasing the series\u2019 crown jewel: an Indy 500 victory.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s come close in recent years, narrowly missing out in 2024. And after qualifying on the front row on Sunday, he\u2019s staring down a long race where anything can happen, hoping to change his luck and accomplish another goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you go through life trying to plan it, you\u2019re going to be very disappointed, because if I\u2019ve learned something, life never goes to plan, and it works in very mysterious ways,\u201d O\u2019Ward told The Athletic in 2024. \u201cAnd when you\u2019re so focused on wanting to do one exact plan, you might miss some of the best opportunities that you have in front of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Ward describes himself as a foodie who prefers whole foods and avoids junk food. While he doesn\u2019t consider himself a chef, he claims to be \u201ca good cook\u201d, with filet mignon as one of his specialties. His breakfast usually consists of eggs, and although he can make pasta, he doesn\u2019t prepare his own sauces.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you like super-heavy sauces and stuff, I\u2019m not your guy,\u201d he explained. \u201cIf you like simple, healthy, fresh, I\u2019m your guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The McLaren driver enjoys cheat meals after races (he\u2019s a big fan of French fries) but his mantra is simple: \u201cI live by staying very active in order to be able to eat.\u201d O\u2019Ward is passionate about extreme sports and describes his motorsports journey as \u201cone of the weirdest ever, because of how unorganized my rise to IndyCar was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Born and raised in Mexico (the name comes from an Irish great-grandfather), O\u2019Ward\u2019s passion for racing started as a hobby before he realized his talent. His family helped him chase the passion, and are still involved to this day, and he discovered in his early teens that he wanted to pursue motorsports:\u00a0\u201cSo I started really dedicating, ultimately, my whole life, and you basically give up your childhood and your adolescence in order to make this happen. And I wouldn\u2019t change it.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Ward grew up on dirt bikes and motorcycles, so it wasn\u2019t a shock for his parents when he got into driving go-karts after his grandfather gave him one when he was six. He won multiple championships during his karting years in Mexico (he was born in Monterrey) and the United States (his family moved to San Antonio, Texas, during his childhood). He jumped to cars at 13 years old, and by 2014 was competing in European series, such as the French F4 Championship.<\/p>\n
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O\u2019Ward is still a McLaren F1 reserve driver (Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
But he jumped around from there, competing in Japan at one point and also in endurance racing.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Ward was aiming for F1; however, what stood in his path was the elusive super license. Drivers must secure 40 points across three years to obtain an FIA super license, the mandatory qualification required to compete at grand prix level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been a fan of trying so many different things and being open-minded on different types of race cars and activities\u2026 I\u2019ve always liked to think outside of the box. And whenever I do something, I\u2019ve never been known to do it halfway. I always do it with both feet in, and if it works out, it works out. If it doesn\u2019t work out, you always find a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
His goal of competing in F1 went hand-in-hand with this mentality.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing\u2019s ever enough. And you\u2019re always striving for perfection. You\u2019re always striving for more and more and more, and, \u2018How can I be better?\u2019. So for me, it was just easy, like, \u2018That\u2019s where I want to be.\u2019 Why? Because Formula One is the top.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first few years he spent watching F1 races as a child were when Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso battled against each other at McLaren, when O\u2019Ward was around seven or eight. His first in-person race was in the paddock of the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is the race that I was like, \u2018This is for me\u2019,\u201d O\u2019Ward said. \u201cI\u2019m willing to give up everything in my life for this.\u201d<\/p>\n
That F1 dream has yet to come to fruition. Without a super license, O\u2019Ward headed back to the U.S. \u2014 again.<\/p>\n
He began the Road to Indy ladder in 2014 and found success in the States, such as winning the 24 Hours of Daytona three years later. A pivotal moment for O\u2019Ward\u2019s journey came in 2018 when he joined Andretti Autosport to compete in Indy NXT, the junior category for IndyCar. Of 17 races, he won nine, secured the drivers\u2019 championship (beating runner-up Colton Herta), and was named Rookie of the Year. He began searching for a way to take that next step up in his career by breaking into IndyCar.<\/p>\n
To O\u2019Ward, IndyCar is likely the closest comparison to F1, aside from Super Formula in Japan. It is among the most competitive series because of the tightness within car performance, and to win the title, drivers and teams need to come as close to perfection as possible at four different types of tracks \u2014 street courses, road tracks, super speedways, and ovals.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur cars look a bit more like Formula One cars. They\u2019re not based out of a streetcar,\u201d\u00a0O\u2019Ward explained. \u201cThey\u2019ve got massive wings that produce downforce, and they\u2019re very competitive and physical cars. They do sound cooler than the Formula One cars, I can tell you that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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O\u2019Ward has twice lost the Indy 500 on the final lap (Brian Spurlock\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
His big break came in late October 2019. After having a part-time drive that IndyCar season with Carlin, McLaren announced that O\u2019Ward would be part of its driver lineup for 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as it was presented, I grabbed it, and my goal was always in the mentality of, \u2018As soon as I get this opportunity, they\u2019re not going to get me off of that car\u2019,\u201d O\u2019Ward said. \u201cAnd I feel like the team hasn\u2019t regretted that decision yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across five full-time seasons, he\u2019s secured five poles, seven wins, and 25 podium finishes, and he\u2019s finished in the top four of IndyCar\u2019s championship three times. O\u2019Ward is set to stay with the team at least a few more years, signing a multi-year contract extension last year. When reflecting on his relationship with McLaren, he expressed that both sides were going through the growing phases together, sharing how it\u2019s special to experience that with someone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m part of that building phase of what Arrow McLaren is now, and I\u2019ve helped build and form the team,\u201d O\u2019Ward said in 2024. \u201cSo whenever we do get that final goal that we\u2019ve been searching for the last three or four years, that really will make it so much more special with the people that you\u2019ve been able to work together with.\u201d<\/p>\n
For O\u2019Ward, it\u2019s not a matter of whether he will win the Indy 500 or the championship one day (He\u2019s come close numerous times with the \u201cGreatest Spectacle in Racing,\u201d like narrowly missing out on the victory and finishing second in 2024). To him, it\u2019s a matter of when. Because while he did once have dreams of competing in F1, O\u2019Ward has stood firm that his home is in IndyCar right now \u2014 though he\u2019s not shutting the door to future opportunities.<\/p>\n
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