"Don't be a wuss": When Pato O'ward talked about his experience testing an F1 car

Back in 2022, Pato O'Ward shared his experience of driving an F1 car for the first time, and revealed that he had a wide smile inside the cockpit while doing his first fast lap around the YAS Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The Mexican drove an F1 car for the first time during McLaren's young driver test in UAE in 2021.

Pato O'Ward has been part of the McLaren family since 2020, and McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown had reportedly promised him a test in their F1 car if the youngster won an IndyCar race in the 2021 season. O'Ward came through with his end of the deal, claiming victories at the 2021 XPEL and the Detroit Grand Prix, and subsequently got his F1 outing at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test.

O'Ward sat down with fellow IndyCar driver Romain Grosjean to do an interview for the Frenchman's Youtube channel in 2022. Being a former F1 man himself, Grosjean asked O'Ward about his experience in an F1 car, and the Mexican shared an instance from his first fast run in the McLaren during the test session (4:00 onwards):

"You know in Abu Dhabi turn 1, and then 2 and 3. The change of direction from 2 and 3, man, my smile inside the helmet, and I still get goosebumps when I think about it. Because the first lap, I said, 'Don't be a wuss, go flat.'"

"I know it's easy flat out through there, but it is so fast. From any other car that I have been in, it's like, you probably lift a little," he added.

After this interview, O'Ward also took part in his first-ever F1 Free Practice session in December of 2022 with McLaren, again driving around the Abu Dhabi circuit. Since 2022, the Mexican has also remained as the Test and Reserve Driver for McLaren's F1 outfit.

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"What a car": When Pato O'Ward shared his experience after his first-ever F1 test in a McLaren

Pato O'Ward during his first F1 Test with McLaren in Abu Dhabi, December 2021 - Source: Getty

Pato O'Ward shared his amazement at driving an F1 car for the first time, after driving the McLaren at the Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Test back in December 2021.

After competing his test in Abu Dhabi, O'Ward shared his experience via McLaren's official Youtube channel [7:08 onwards]:

"What a car, like I am mind-blown with what the cars are capable of doing in the quick corners. I was expecting something ridiculous, but this is more than ridiculous."

"I was struggling to keep my head up at the end. My limitations of going quicker on the soft tire was actually not being able to see where I was going in the quick corners because it was so much load on my head and I couldn't hold it up."

Since then, Pato O'Ward has carved out a name for himself in IndyCar in the four years that have passed, while still remaining with the Papaya team. A seat in F1 could be in the 24-year-old's future, as he is one of the hottest properties in the American open-wheel scene currently.