"I feel like you're that guy who says, 'Oh, I took Spanish in school'": When Pato O'ward took a dig at McLaren's F1 stablemate Lando Norris

Pato O'Ward is McLaren's face in the IndyCar series, and similarly, Lando Norris is the face of McLaren in F1 currently. However, in 2021, these two racing realms collided and the Mexican driver hilariously assumed that Norris knew some words in his native language ahead of McLaren's Spanish challenge.

Norris has been with the British team since 2017 when he was a budding junior driver. The Woking-based squad gave the Briton his first taste of F1 machinery and made his debut with the team in 2019.

On the other hand, O'Ward did not have distant connections with McLaren but made his full-time debut with the team in 2020. Since their debuts, the two drivers have grown their stature in the McLaren stable and were matched for a Spanish learning session in November 2021.

The Mexican driver was supposed to teach Lando Norris some Spanish words and slangs. However, before even starting the lesson, Pato O'Ward claimed that the F1 driver had learned Spanish in his school days, as he said:

"I feel like you're that guy who says, 'oh, I took Spanish in school.'"

On the other hand, Norris declined the IndyCar driver's claims, and he spent some time learning Spanish words.

---

The banter between Pato O'Ward and Lando Norris has been a long-standing one

Pato O'Ward at the post-season Formula 1 Testing in Abu Dhabi - Source: Getty

Pato O'Ward has envisioned becoming an F1 driver since his early racing days. Though Arrow McLaren appeared to have a direct path to the F1 realm, this dream now feels like a distant one for the Mexican driver.

However, this does not mean that O'Ward has not taken part in F1 sessions. At the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix weekend, the IndyCar driver was given Norris' car for the FP1 session.

While everyone reckoned Pato O'Ward would focus on enjoying having his home crowd by his side, the Mexican had to focus on something else as the incumbent driver had given him 'clear' instructions, as he later revealed (via FOX Sports):

"Pato, don’t shunt the car. Pato, if you try to go too fast, I am going to scream at you, and we need information. This information is extremely important to what the weekend is going to look like."

The 25-year-old's start to the 2025 IndyCar campaign has been a bit of a rollercoaster. O'Ward had a torrid qualifying session at the season opener in St. Petersburg and started the race down in 23rd.

He then had to drive in damage control mode as he climbed back up the field to finish a mediocre 11th. However, the Thermal Club Grand Prix weekend was the main highlight as he bagged the pole at the start of the weekend and recorded a respectable P2 finish.