Pato O'Ward sets clear goal for "underdogs" Arrow McLaren to upstage Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing

Pato O'Ward was all smiles after earning his first pole position in three years at IndyCar's Thermal Club GP qualifying on Saturday. However, the Mexican driver emphasized that Arrow McLaren was still the "underdog" compared to the long-time championship contenders Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing.

O'Ward's pole position was made sweeter by teammate Christian Lundgaard securing P2 to give Arrow McLaren its first IndyCar front-row lockout. In the post-qualifying press conference, O'Ward was asked how it felt to have the equally competent Lundgaard as his new teammate in 2025.

"I'm happy to have strong teammates, and I'm happy to have people that are very fast, and that's just going to make me better," he said via ASAP Sports. "It's going to make the whole team better. We need multiple cars -- like we need team cars to be at the front. We can't just have one that's fighting up there."

The No. 5 Chevrolet driver emphasized how this partnership is needed to break Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing's current IndyCar dominance, with CGR's Alex Palou aiming for his third consecutive title in 2025. He also touched upon CGR's technical alliance with Meyer Shank Racing, which gives MSR an added edge over Arrow McLaren too.

"All three Penskes are always fighting at the front. All four Ganassis are always at the front. I know there's only right now two Ganassis that are usually at the front, but the Shanks count. It's what we need in IndyCar, like every weekend is stronger, and some guys can be a surprise. I think we've been a surprise this weekend. So I think we're in good shape, and we're pushing forward. We want to beat the big guys. We're still the underdogs," Pato O'Ward added.

Since 2013, Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing have been the only two teams to win IndyCar championships. In 2012, it was Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport (now Andretti Global) who won a one-off title to break CGR's then-4-year title streak. Arrow McLaren has never won a championship.

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Pato O'Ward faces a challenge with the lack of direction for IndyCar's inaugural Thermal Club GP

Pato O'Ward's No. 5 Arrow McLaren Honda at IndyCar's Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Source: Getty

Pato O'Ward's last pole position came at the 2022 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. However, a fuel system issue in lap 52 of 80 led to a heartbreaking retirement. Despite breaking the undesirable streak at the Thermal Club this weekend, he wasn't confident about converting it into a win.

In a post-qualifying press conference, O'Ward was asked about the setup changes Arrow McLaren will make before the Thermal Club GP on Sunday.

"I would assume we're probably doing some adjustments, but I don't think we have a very clear direction of knowing exactly where the car's going to go because, if I'm not mistaken, I think we've only done like in practice we did like 10 laps in each," Pato O'Ward said via ASAP Sports.

"I don't think we've done more. We've done maybe a little bit more than a stint, like it's not a lot of laps. I think it's still a big question," he added.

Though all IndyCar drivers will have a warmup period a few hours before the race, it won't give a fair assessment of the actual race conditions. The temperatures during the race are expected to be over 30 degrees more than the morning warmup, which means higher tire degradation and more physical challenges.