Pato O'Ward lets emotions show after McLaren’s high-stakes ‘gamble’ at Thermal Club falls short

Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward finished the Thermal Club Grand Prix in second place on Sunday, March 23. The Mexican driver commented on his team's gamble which did not work out.

The 25-year-old qualified with pole position on Saturday, March 22. However, he finished the race in second place, after being overtaken by the three-time defending champion Alex Palou on Lap 56. While speaking with Indycar staff writer Paul Kelly, O'Ward explained how Arrow McLaren took a gamble but it didn't work out for them.

“We took a gamble; it didn’t work out for us. We had used our new reds (alternate tires) at the start because we didn’t really quite know what the deg (tire degradation) was going to be like. The blacks (primary tires) really kind of took a turn for the negative at the end of the race, and that was it. We didn’t stand a fighting chance,” O'Ward said.

The last pit stop changed the course of the race for Pato O'Ward and McLaren. At the end of Lap 50, O'Ward made a pitstop and changed his tires to the primary compound tire while Palou chose the alternate tire. This helped Palou blaze past O'Ward.

O'Ward led 51 out of the first 55 laps. This was a redemption for Pato O'Ward and Arrow McLaren after a rough start to the season at the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg.

Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan speaks about Pato O'Ward's transformation.

Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan recently spoke about how much Pato O'Ward has transformed over the seasons. O'Ward joined the team in 2018 and has gone from being the younger driver to becoming the team leader.

Teams with two great drivers can form rivalries among their teammates. The new team principal explained how hiring Christian Lundgaard would not have sat well with the 'old' Pato O'Ward. However, the Mexican showed maturity towards Lundgaard's signing.

While in conversation with RACER.COM, Kanaan revealed how O'Ward has matured over the years, saying:

"Before, the old Pato would be mad and thinking, ‘Why did you bring this Lundgaard guy here? I want to go to somewhere else.’ Now, he’s like, ‘Well, gotta raise my game.’ I believe Pato’s one of the best talents in IndyCar. Now we need to define that to become a champion, an Indy 500 winner, otherwise he’ll be known as one of the best that never really won everything. So hopefully I can help him with that. The keys are believing you can do it and then executing and actually doing it, and that’s what we’re all working on together."

Pato O'Ward and Christian Lundgaard finished the Thermal Club Grand Prix in second and third place, respectively.