Pato O'Ward swoons over 'works of art' F1 cars as McLaren Mexico GP outing approaches

The 2025 IndyCar season is done and dusted, and Pato O'Ward has shifted focus to his F1 duties. The Mexican driver will be driving the McLaren MCL39 at his home race during the free practice session as part of the rookie test. The Arrow McLaren driver reflected on the differences between an IndyCar and an F1 car as he called the F1 machinery a ‘work of art’.

Pato O'Ward fulfills the role of the full-time driver for the Arrow McLaren team in the IndyCar series as well as the reserve driver role for the McLaren F1 team, since he's part of the McLaren Driver Development Program. The 2025 IndyCar season ended in August, and the Mexican has now been looking forward to his F1 debut in Mexico City.

During the 2024 season, O'Ward was spotted in the paddock during multiple F1 races after the IndyCar season ended, as well as driving the McLaren around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit during FP1. A similar thing can be expected of the Mexican driver this season.

Formula 1 Testing In Abu Dhabi - Source: Getty

Earlier this year, it was confirmed that Pato O'Ward will be taking the MCL39 out in front of his home crowd once again this year during the FP1 session. With the Mexican GP on the horizon, the Arrow McLaren driver reflected on jumping between his IndyCar and F1 duties, and how the IndyCar is more aggressive and suits his driving style. However, O'Ward swooned over the F1 cars as he said,

“There are ways where you find your groove. In F1, there is just such a difference between the high-performance runs and high-fuel runs. There’s definitely not as much of a change in IndyCar. Any time you have a chance to drive these cars, it is really special. They really are works of art. A thousand people working on two cars, that is crazy.” (via McLaren.com)

The Mexican GP will take place from October 24-26, and Pato O'Ward will be driving the McLaren MCL39 on Friday, October 24.

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Pato O'Ward ‘overwhelmed' by the switch from IndyCar to F1

Arrow McLaren star Pato O'Ward has to fulfill both his IndyCar and F1 duties. While other IndyCar drivers are on vacation or racing in endurance races, the Mexican has to be at the McLaren Technology Center (MTC) and work with the F1 team. Detailing how the switch from IndyCar to F1 can be overwhelming, given the scale of F1 as well as the switch between the countries, he said,

“The general scale of a Formula 1 team is so much larger. There are still a lot of people in INDYCAR, but in Formula 1, you really do have one person for everything. One is American and one is British, so the teams will speak to you about the same things, but the words they are using are different, which at first, can be a little overwhelming. You have to wrap your head around the different ways of saying the same thing.”

O'Ward's role was previously filled by four-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou, who was set to join Arrow McLaren but failed to honor his contract and is now facing a lawsuit.