Elba O’Ward calls brother Pato O'Ward 'an absolute icon' in heartfelt birthday wish

Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward celebrated his 26th birthday on Tuesday, May 6. His sister, Elba, shared a birthday wish for him, calling the IndyCar driver an absolute icon.

O'Ward is a full-time IndyCar driver. He is also a part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme, serving as McLaren's reserve driver for their Formula One team.

The O'Ward siblings frequently interact with each other's social media activities, often commenting and posting about the other. On the occasion of her brother's birthday, Elba posted a picture from her wedding celebrations where the siblings are seemingly indulging in a drinking game. She appreciated his personality and called him the "best brother".

"Ride or die since ‘99. can’t believe you’re 26 🥹 happy birthday to an absolute icon and the best brother a girl could ask for, i’d literally go to jail for you or at least 12 months house arrest <3 keep showing the world what it means to be unafraid of being completely, authentically, uniquely, and unapologetically yourself. you are magic to see. ily forever 🤍", she captioned.

Pato O'Ward makes his feelings known about the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

INDYCAR Open Testing - Indianapolis - Source: Getty

Pato O'Ward began the fourth round of the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series Championship at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, from eighth on the grid and climbed two spots to finish sixth. Although the Arrow McLaren team delivered a solid overall performance with his teammate Christian Lundgaard finishing second, O'Ward claimed that he found the race rather uneventful.

Qualifying on Saturday, May 3, saw all three Arrow McLaren drivers earn respectable starting positions. Nolan Siegel made his debut in the Firestone Fast Six. He started sixth but slipped back to ninth by the end. Christian Lundgaard, who lined up seventh and impressively finished just behind championship leader Alex Palou.

O'Ward, piloting the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, summarized the team's performance as encouraging, but despite the strong team showing, he described the race itself as "boring."

"It was a very strong points day for all of us. It was great to see all three cars in the top 10. It was a pretty boring race I would say. The highlight was seeing Christian go through the Penske's while I was struggling. But great job to Christian and Nolan," Pato O'Ward said via Speedway Digest.

"From the our side, I felt like we were behind playing catch-up and we kept making things better and better, but for the race, that was the most I could get out of it. We recovered some good points for the championship, and I'm excited to go to the Indy Road Course and the Indy 500, which is just an amazing event to be a part of," he added.

Pato, who is currently fourth in the drivers' championship with 108 points, scored a total of 28 points in the race.