Pato O'Ward hails "second family" after topping IndyCar Sebring test

IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward topped the timing sheets on Day 1 of the two-day test at the Sebring International Raceway. With the 2025 IndyCar season on the horizon, the teams took to the iconic track in Florida to test the 2025 machinery and give the drivers a feel for it before the season began. O’Ward hailed McLaren after the test, calling the team his 'second family'.

Pato O'Ward topped the timing sheets with a time of 52.3470 seconds in the No.5 Arrow McLaren powered by Chevrolet. The test ran around the short course at the Sebring International Raceway which is 1.62 miles long. The McLaren driver was allotted the morning session where he completed a total of 47 laps and set the overall fastest time of the day.

The Mexican spoke with IndyCar after topping the session and hailed Arrow McLaren. Pato O'Ward also detailed his feelings and revealed how he couldn't wait for the start of the season. He said (via IndyCar):

“Oh, man, it's the best feeling in the world; it's the best job in the world. I was so excited to come back to Sebring and get into an INDYCAR SERIES car, getting to work with the engineers again. It definitely feels like home, and it's a second family to me. So always excited to get rolling.”

He has been the lead driver for McLaren ever since Alex Palou refused to fulfill the contract he signed with the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team. The Mexican driver was also put in the role designed for Palou, where along with the IndyCar duties, he also fulfills the role of the F1 team's reserve driver.

O’Ward finished the last couple of IndyCar seasons 4th and 5th in the championship respectively, and has been the highest placed Arrow McLaren driver in the championship since he joined the team in 2020 in a full-time role.

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“There's definitely a deadline”: Pato O'Ward gets impatient over his F1 dream

Pato O'Ward’s McLaren F1 reserve driver role comes with the possibility of having a shot at the role of a full-time F1 driver. However, both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have a long-standing contract with McLaren, making it unlikely for O'Ward to get a shot at the F1 seat. This was the very reason why Alex Palou backed out of the McLaren contract.

Formula 1 Testing In Abu Dhabi - Source: Getty

As patience runs thin, Pato O'Ward came out and commented on his F1 plans. He said (via The Race),

“I'm at a point in my career where I'm all in, and I've been all in for so long for this opportunity in Formula 1 to come about, but that always has a deadline, it will always have a date where it's just... 'that's enough', because it might never happen.”

"I'm not open to doing it for five more years. I think there's definitely a deadline and that will come sooner rather than later. I'm giving it everything this year and hopefully my opportunities keep on growing. I would say it's to the point where I think it's reached a pretty intense role in terms of having a presence at all the flyover [F1] races, and I want to drive the car. I want to be in the car.”

Pato O’Ward traveled to all the F1 race weekends where the schedule did not collide with the IndyCar calendar and is expected to do more of the same for the 2025 season. The IndyCar season begins on March 2nd at the Saint Petersburg Grand Prix.