Pato O'Ward delivers a reality check on McLaren’s progress after falling short of the IndyCar title

Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward recently participated in the Grand Prix of Portland held on August 10. After the race he spoke about his performance and also delved into the championship fight and progress made by the team.

The 26-year-old drives the #5 Arrow McLaren car powered by Chevrolet. At the beginning of the season, the driver kicked off the maiden race held at St. Petersburg with an 11th place finish, which was followed by a 2-3 at the Thermal Club Grand Prix. However, it was after the Long Beach Grand Prix that the disappointment set in as O'Ward struggled to get positive results.

The trajectory of his performance changed after the Barber Motorsports Park, and he went on to put up consistent performances, which helped him secure second place in the drivers' championship. While speaking to Eric Smith, IndyCar staff writer, Pato O'Ward spoke about the team's progress over the season. He said:

“There was a pretty big objective to make our bad weekends better. I don't necessarily think it's been amazing in that regard. We've had some really tough weekends where we've just not been anywhere close to where we truly should be, especially when you see where the 10 car (Palou) has been every weekend. But it's showing how we're just accepting whenever we don’t have it, and we're executing when we do have it. I think that's put us in a position to fight.”

During the recently held Portland Grand Prix, Pato O'Ward and the Arrow McLaren team fell short from stopping Chip Ganassi's Alex Palou from claiming his fourth IndyCar title. The Mexican driver was the only driver mathematically to do so, but his car had an electrical malfunction, which resulted in him finishing in 25th place in the race. This allowed Palou to claim the IndyCar Series Championship.

---

Pato O'Ward speaks about his battle with Conor Daly at St. Louis

The #5 Arrow McLaren driver spoke about his race at St. Louis. He also highlighted his battle with Juncos Hollinger Racing's Conor Daly and drew comparisons to his battle with Josef Newgarden during the 2023 Texas Race.

O'Ward and Daly went head-to-head and battled for the lead on lap 149. Pato O'Ward made an appearance on the podcast SpeedStreet hosted by Conor Daly and Chase Holden, where he spoke about the battle with Daly. He said,

"Really good race. And I have to say it's been a while since I've had such good battles like that. It reminded me of Josef and I in Texas 2023. Like, you know, like you and I going side by side, by just pure racing, pure, like, you know, just getting after it like just getting on the limit." (1:05:15 onwards)

"Yeah, yes, right on the limit, giving each other exactly what you need in order to be able to do that, like that. That is what people want to see, like. If I had a child, I would have told him that's the ending to the Indy 500. Yeah, you know, I thought that was phenomenal, and it was just amazing to be a part of it," he added

Pato O'Ward currently sits in second place in the drivers' championship with 475 points to his name.