"They plow like pigs": Pato O'Ward reveals Arrow McLaren's woes after IndyCar's hybrid change

With IndyCar aiming for a sustainable future, hybrid engines were introduced last year but increased the car's weight, which Pato O'Ward was critical of. After securing the pole for the Thermal Club Grand Prix, the Mexican driver lamented how the cars were no longer on the edge and drew an analogy to the cars plowing like pigs at racetracks.

Last year, at Mid-Ohio, the hearts of the racecars were changed forever by the hybridization of the engines. This led to an approximate 100 pounds increase in the car's weight, which took away the car's nimbleness.

Though the new engines produce close to 900bhp, this increase in power could only be utilized when the battery was in its peak power mode. This in turn, often led the cars to carry around extra weight whenever their battery capacity was not in the perfect window.

Subsequently, when asked about whether the cars were still able to drive on the edge, Pato O'Ward criticized the added weight of the hybrid unit slowing the car down, and said (via ASAP Sports):

"Not a lot. You used to have them a lot on the edge without the hybrid, but with all this weight in the rear, they just plow like pigs really. Yeah, it's a bit of a shame because they feel like they can go a lot faster, but we can't really get them there to that edge where maybe I have put it in the past."

Last year's fastest lap time during qualifying at Thermal Club was 1:38:5675s, recorded by Alex Palou, while this year's pole lap time by O'Ward was over a second slower than the Spaniard's time.

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Pato O'Ward shares his thoughts after bagging the pole for the Thermal Club Grand Prix

Pato O'Ward at the TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY IndyCar Media Day - Source: Getty

Though Pato O'Ward lamented the hybrid power unit, he was able to hone his Arrow McLaren around the 17 turns of the track fastest and claimed the pole position. This marked the end of his 2-plus year drought for a pole position and was happy with how things went down.

Sharing his excitement, the 25-year-old said (via FOX 59):

"I knew if we could get the car to my liking, I would get it done. I’ve got to thank the guys. We turned it around. We dialed it in after Q1 because I was somewhat happy with it but not perfect. Just made a little bit of an adjustment and as soon as we went out in Q2, I said, ‘I’ve got this.’"

Pato O'Ward will lead a McLaren front-row start at the Thermal Club Grand Prix. He will aim to maximize the clean air in the early phase of the Grand Prix and reduce his deficit in the championship caused by the subpar result in St. Petersburg.