Conor Daly hits out at Pato O'Ward's 'wild' Indy 500 criticism: "Marcus Ericsson was real upset about those comments"

Conor Daly has clapped back at Pato O'Ward's severe criticism of the 109th Indy 500. The Arrow McLaren driver not only called the race 'boring' but also accused runner-up Marcus Ericsson of 'choking' against Alex Palou in the battle for the race win.

In an interview after the race, O'Ward, who finished in fourth place (before IndyCar announced post-race penalties), bluntly analyzed the race, saying:

"It just kind of sucks that it just went down to the switcheroo for the last position of the race. And Ericsson kind of choked there and let Palou by, and just kind of, he just had to pedal it there. I don't think it's the finish that anybody here would have wanted to see."

Conor Daly, who was in contention for the win before the rear right tire on his No. 76 car started degrading surprisingly quickly, called out Pato O'Ward for his unnecessary comments. He also shared how those comments made an already heartbroken Ericsson more upset.

"He said some wild comments after the race about the restarts, like how people weren't good on restarts or whatever. I like Pato, and he gets very emotional, and he was kind of talking crap about Marcus Ericsson, but I was like, Marcus Ericsson's got an Indy 500 win, brother.

"So I don't know if we can be doing that. And Marcus, I know, was real upset about those comments, which as he should be. I don't understand why Pato really needed to say that," Daly said on his Speed Street podcast.

Marcus Ericsson was inconsolable after finishing in second place. However, worse news was to come his way. On Monday, IndyCar announced penalties for three cars after post-race technical inspection.

The 2022 Indy 500 winner was one of them. He was stripped of his P2 result and pushed to the back of the grid in P31. As a result, Pato O'Ward earned a promotion from P4 to P3, and Daly was bumped up two places from P10 to P8.

Pato O'Ward labels the 2025 Indy 500 the 'worst Indy 500 he's been a part of'

Pato O'Ward at the 109th Running Of The Indianapolis 500 - Practice and Previews - Source: Getty

The last three runnings of the Indy 500 before 2025 saw final-lap passes decide the race winner. Pato O'Ward was expecting something similar at the 109th running last Sunday, the lack of which made him term the race 'boring' and 'crap'.

In Arrow McLaren's post-race debrief video on X, the Mexican driver assessed the race, saying:

"I'm not going to band-aid this. This was the worst Indy 500 I've ever been a part of. What a boring race. What a crap race. Pathetic restarts. I feel bad for the sellout of the fans, everybody that came here would've loved to see a finish like last year. But no, they were looking at the last place making switches, and the leader just kind of chilling there."

Alex Palou won the race for the first time, making it five wins in six races this season. O'Ward trails him by 112 points in the championship standings, with the Detroit Grand Prix up next.