Santino Ferrucci sidesteps reporter's question about Pato O'Ward's "worthless" dig at Chevrolet drivers

Pato O'Ward was furious at his Chevrolet-engined teammates and deemed them worthless as lapped traffic played a crucial role in the Mexican's loss. With Santino Ferrucci being one of the Chevy drivers, the 26-year-old was asked his verdict on the Arrow McLaren driver's statements but dodged the question by asserting he didn't have any opinions.

O'Ward was the pole-sitter at the Thermal Club Grand Prix and was the favorite for the win. While he was tangled up by hybrid issues in his power unit due to the intense heat in the Californian weather, he had built up a massive nine-second lead after his final pit stop.

On the other hand, Alex Palou had gotten past his teammate and was on the charge to take the Mexican. His chase was aided by fellow Honda-engined driver Louis Foster, who gave everything in his inventory to hold back O'Ward, which helped the Spaniard gain heaps of seconds on him.

The Arrow McLaren driver ultimately lost the race due to such antics and being on a slower tire. Infuriated by what had gone down, the 25-year-old condemned the Chevrolet-engined drivers for not being able to be good teammates and deemed them "worthless."

Subsequently, ahead of the Long Beach Grand Prix, Ferrucci was also asked about his opinion on the Mexican driver's statements. He sidestepped the question, as he said, via Frontstretch Open Wheel:

"[I] don't have one, I feel like I help out my Chevrolet teammates to help me, so..."

Meanwhile, Pato O' Ward sits second in the IndyCar championship standings and also unofficial Instagram followers standings among the drivers.

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Alexander Rossi reveals the true reason behind Pato O'Ward's popularity

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

With the McLaren driver's impressive social media presence, Pato O'Ward has a huge fanbase in the IndyCar racing realm. Moreover, giving an insight into how the Mexican has surged in popularity, his former teammate, Alexander Rossi, said, via Pasadena Star-News:

"I think he is at the correct age group and he’s fast. Colton [Herta] is in the same age group, but Colton doesn’t lean into the social side of things. He doesn’t want to, which is totally fine.

“Pato understands how to, like, move the needle from an online presence. He’s fast and it’s important to him and he wants to give fans a good experience with his merchandise line. He wants to be a brand and so you have the combination of all those things.

O'Ward was then asked the same question, and he shared his views on the matter:

"Of course, I embrace it. I mean, we’re in entertainment. That’s what we want to see grow, we want to do well performance-wise."

Pato O'Ward has a 39-point delta to Alex Palou in the championship standings and would want to start reducing this deficit by getting back to winning ways at the Long Beach Grand Prix.