"It is an anomaly": When Graham Rahal gave his clear take on McLaren's "laughable" deal with Pato O'Ward

IndyCar driver Graham Rahal made his opinions clear about Pato O'Ward's McLaren IndyCar salary as he came out and commented about the same in March 2024. The Mexican driver signed a new contract extension with Arrow McLaren in 2024 and the same was presented in the team's lawsuit against Alex Palou.

McLaren filed a lawsuit against Palou after the Spaniard breached the contract with the team and decided to stay with Chip Ganassi Racing. The Woking-based outfit filed a $30M lawsuit against the CGR driver and during a hearing Pato O'Ward’s current contract was presented, making it publicly available. Multiple IndyCar drivers reacted to the contract including Graham Rahal, who said, (via NBC Sports)

“Laughable how different our base pays are, but that’s fine. That was awesome for him. From what I at least know or have seen, I think McLaren’s pay is an anomaly compared to every other team, and I don’t really know how that works, but it’s not up to me. I mean some teams are running off that (amount) as a budget.”

“Good for Pato. It’s great for him, and it is good for the sport. When I came into this sport (in 2007), there were a lot of guys not making money. Like making zero and not being able to pay the insurance bill every year, and it is changing in the right direction. But hopefully for the younger guys, that will change the market and help some of them get a little better off.”

AUTO: APR 26 IndyCar - Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama - Source: Getty

As per the new contract, Pato O'Ward is set to receive $4 Million for the 2026 season and $4.2 Million for the 2027 season. Not only that but there's also a $2 Million bonus included in the contract to boost the Mexican driver's current contract. However, it is to be noted that O'Ward’s contract also includes the role of the F1 reserve driver for McLaren's F1 team.

---

Graham Rahal and Pato O'Ward had a hilarious exchange on social media following the Mexican's contract revelation

The details of Pato O'Ward’s McLaren contract extension were posted on social media platform X by IndyCar reporter Nathan Brown. Graham Rahal took the opportunity to poke the Mexican with a hilarious jibe for the same as he responded to Brown's tweet. His response read,

“I’m not buying breakfast anymore @PatricioOWard.”

The McLaren IndyCar driver came back at Graham Rahal, asking him to pay for the dinner as he wrote,

“How about dinner?

However, despite being one of the highest-paid IndyCar drivers, second only to Colton Herta with a $7 Million salary, O'Ward's salary is nowhere near what a top F1 driver makes. Both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton earn upward of $50M dollars in salary and bonuses.