– Just two years ago, McLaren test driver Patricio O’Ward showed great interest in a move to Formula 1, but it was also clear to the Mexican at the time that the deadline for this would not be too far in the future.
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But while his IndyCar colleague Colton Herta dares to make the leap and wants to move up to the premier class via Formula 2, the deadline for O’Ward seems to have expired: The 26-year-old has established himself in the IndyCar series and also seems to have lost some interest in Formula 1.
“Honestly, I have no desire for it,” O’Ward admits to Fox Deportes. He cites the new regulations as the reason, saying they don’t give him much and calling them an “artificial show.” “What the series did there was a mistake,” he says.
The IndyCar series, on the other hand, is “right now the best series for a driver who wants to race,” he says. Therefore, his interest has now shifted back to the USA, because he doesn’t need to go to Formula 1 just for prestige and money, as he emphasizes.
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“The hunger I had to get into Formula 1 was not because of fame or money. It was because the cars were something impressive; driving these cars was something impressive,” he says, seeing this essence lost.
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He emphasizes that a driver wants to seek the limit when braking and in fast corners, “and not that the car decelerates by itself at the end of the straight” – due to energy management.
And: “You don’t want to constantly have to flip a switch to say, ‘Oh, I’ll press here now to artificially overtake him.’ It’s not Mario Kart; we’re racing here. Honestly, I have zero desire to be a part of it,” he explains.
O’Ward remains under contract as a reserve driver for McLaren in Formula 1 and conducts test drives there in older cars. He has also completed five free practice sessions. In 2025, he became vice-champion in the IndyCar series.
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