Pato O'Ward makes feelings known on Barber amid his winless slump

Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward recently spoke about the upcoming Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, which will be held at Barber Motorsports Park. O'Ward opened up about how enjoyable he finds the track.

The upcoming Grand Prix will be held at the 2.3 mile, 17-turn road course. The 25-year-old previously won at the track in 2022 after a battle with defending world champion Alex Palou. While talking to Speedway Digest, Pato O'Ward spoke about how much he enjoys the track and starting the month on the right foot.

"Barber is one of the tracks I really enjoy- it's fast flowing and super physical, which makes it a fun place to race. You've got to be on it every lap. It is a place we've been strong at before, so this is a great opportunity to kick off may on the right foot. We're ready to fight and set the tone for what's to come," he said

Since the Milwaukee Mile race in 2024, O'Ward hasn't been able to clinch any victories. His latest attempt to end his current winless streak was at the Thermal Club Grand Prix held on March 23, where he qualified in pole position alongside his teammate Christian Lundgaard in second place. However, a strategy gamble ended it all as Palou overtook the young Mexican during the last two laps and claimed the victory.

Pato O'Ward will be looking forward to ending his winless race streak this weekend at the Barber Grand Prix, which will be held on Sunday, May 4.

---

Pato O'Ward speaks up about McLaren car 'Plow like pigs'

The #5 car driver, Pato O'Ward, recently spoke about the issues with the Arrow McLaren car. The 25-year-old mentioned how the car plows like a pig.

The hybrid system was introduced last season but this is the first full season that it's being used. Notably, some of the drivers have been struggling to find the right balance with the car, and one of them is Pato O'Ward. Due to the added 100 pounds of extra weight from the system, he no longer finds the car on the edge like he did before, making it a little challenging to drive.

While in conversation with Autoweek, O'Ward opened up about the issues he faces with the car. He said,

“You used to have them a lot on the edge without the hybrid, but with all this weight in the rear, they just plow like pigs, really. It's a bit of a shame, because they feel like they can go a lot faster. But we can't really get them there to that edge where maybe I have put it in the past," the Arrow McLaren driver said.

Further on, he added how the changes made to the car had made him change his driving style.

"The problem now, is with this hybrid, we've got so much more weight and the car is a lot lazier and it just can't do that anymore. It's been a bit of an adjustment, because I've had to change my driving style, I would say. Or the approach to how you extract lap time from the car is very different now, because you can't have it strong at the front. It's a snowball effect,” he added.

O'Ward seems to have figured out the car a bit, as he managed to secure promising results at the Thermal Club Grand Prix, where he finished the race in second place after clinching P1 on Saturday.