"Freaking phenomenal" - McLaren's Pato O'Ward praises "one of the best decisions" IndyCar has ever taken

IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward sat in front of the media on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, during the IndyCar off-season to discuss different aspects of the upcoming season. The Mexican came out and praised IndyCar for the partnership with FOX, as he claimed it to be one of the best decisions for the sport's future.

IndyCar announced FOX as the exclusive broadcaster of the series starting in 2025 as the rights were transferred from NBC. The deal was announced in June 2024 as FOX signed a multi-year contract. The media network has already started promotions for the open-wheel racing series and Pato O'Ward hailed their efforts. He said:

“I want to publicly state that I think what Fox and IndyCar are doing is freaking phenomenal, like the commercial that just came out with Josef. I think it was so well done. It’s fun. It’s edgy. It’s, you know, it’s flirting with that line where people do get engaged and you’re like, ‘hey, this is, this is different.'”

“They really seem to be, first of all, on it, and secondly, they know what works, and I think that’s gonna be probably one of the best decisions IndyCar has ever done,” added O'Ward as he hailed IndyCar's vision.

Josef Newgarden’s promotional commercial for the 2025 IndyCar season was recently revealed by FOX and sent fans into a frenzy. Pato O'Ward claimed that the Penske driver’s promo was ‘phenomenal’ and that his version of the promotion has been shot, and is under production.

In addition to O'Ward, Newgarden also came out earlier and hailed IndyCar's move to sign FOX as the official broadcaster.

Pato O'Ward on why not reaching F1 won't be a failure

Pato O'Ward of the McLaren F1 Team MCL38 during the Formula 1 testing at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi - Source: Getty

Pato O'Ward fulfills the duties of the full-time IndyCar driver for Arrow McLaren and the F1 reserve driver. Unfortunately, given Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s long-term contracts, O’Ward’s chances of making it to F1 in the near future look bleak.

The Mexican driver said:

“In terms of the future, being in IndyCar I feel that I have already reached a place where I am already a leader in Mexican motorsport."

"I don't have to come to Formula 1 to be a leader in the country, and I know that many see F1 as the top, but if I don't get there, I wouldn't see it as a failure, because at the end of the day, I've been put up against a lot of people who are on the F1 grid right now, and you know what's happened," he added. [via Marca]

Pato O'Ward is reportedly a consideration for Cadillac"s F1 project. However, Colton Herta is the favorite for getting the newest F1 seat. O'Ward will continue to fulfill the role of the McLare IndyCar driver for the #5 car for the 2025 season.