“I was blown away”: When Pato O'Ward revealed F1’s role in him falling in love with racing

Arrow McLaren star Pato O'Ward once reflected on the one incident that motivated him to pursue motorsports as a career very early on in his life. O'Ward currently drives the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren in the NTT IndyCar Series.

Former Indy Lights winner Pato O'Ward remains one of the brightest prospects for McLaren in the IndyCar Series. At 25, the Mexican has entered his prime years as he continues his pursuit for a maiden IndyCar championship.

Beyond IndyCar, Pato O'Ward has also been making a name for himself in Formula 1. The Monterrey native currently serves as the reserve driver for McLaren's Formula 1 operations, having taken the helm of its vehicles on multiple instances including practice sessions.

While he continues to make a name for himself on the race track, O'Ward once shed light on the one instance involving Formula 1 that made him fall in love with the sport. Speaking to Authority Magazine's Maria Angelova in 2022, O'Ward had revealed:

"I went to my first Formula 1 race in Montreal in June 2012. Before I got to the circuit, I could hear the cars roaring and screaming down the straightaway and I was blown away. 'What is that?!' I said."

He added:

"As soon as I arrived at the circuit, I just fell in love with it all: the noise, the smell, the cars and everything that had to do with the sport. I just thought it was the best thing in the world and that was the pivotal moment for me in wanting to pursue this as a career."

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What are Pato O'Ward's biggest goals for the 2025 campaign?

Pato O'Ward, in 2024, enjoyed one of the most successful IndyCar campaigns of his career. The Mexican driver secured career-best three victories in St Petersburg, Mid-Ohio and Milwaukee Mile. However, the season also saw him endure a total of three DNFs.

With that in mind, O'Ward's biggest challenge for the 2025 campaign is simple: attaining more consistency. In an interview with Arrow McLaren before the season began, the 25-year-old revealed:

"Finishing every lap of every race is an underrated and difficult thing to do. Over the last few years, we’ve had a lot of DNFs. It’s a real bad day when you have one of those. It’s so important to finish every race."

O'Ward firmly believes that a more consistent season that sees him finish each race, would amount to the Mexican secure an even better position in the championship standings. He said:

"I’ve been close to a championship before, but I feel like if we accomplish that goal of finishing every lap, that will get us into a really good position."

Pato O'Ward finished 11th in the season-opening Grand Prix of St Petersburg earlier this month. He had won at the same venue last year.