Yuhs know, IndyCar Chief “Excitement” Officer’s
favourite Driver…
Initially planned to pen my two pesos worth about IndyCar’s Mega’ Charter system’s announcement in a No Fenders post title
Charter This! As I’m mildly intrigued over how the 23XI Racing and Front Row
Motorsport Anti-trust lawsuit plays out…
Although as Racer’s Marshall Pruett has
previously noted. IndyCar’s Charter is like a plain Cheese pizza with zero
toppings right now!
Thus, instead I found myself more inspired to
scribble something about my Numero Uno IndyCar driver now affectionately known
as Pato Who? As perhaps Y’all have seen the billboard in Indiana on I-465.
As Patricio Pato’ O’Ward just made His latest
Formula 1 (Free Practice) FP1 outing for McLaren in Mexico City’s Autodromo
Hermanos Rodriguez, Ariva-Ariva-Ariva!
As Pato wound-up P13 with a time of 1:19.295
vs. twelfth place teenage sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli. With the 18yr old
recording a lap of 1:19.200 for Mercedes.
The next quickest “rookie” was Aston Martin’s
Felipe Drugovich P18. With Robert Shwartzman 19th for Sauber and Oliver Bearman
dead last in P20 for Ferrari. While positions 14-17 were filled by Haas’s Kevin
Magnussen, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll in the other Aston Martin and
Williams Alexander Albon respectively. Although Albon was caught-up in a
collision with Ollie’ Bearman.
Yet Lando Norris, whose McLaren O’Ward was
driving sounds like a total Prick! Saying Pato knows what He’s there for,
testing! And He’s not supposed to damage the car. And we could have chosen
anywhere for Him to test at, so He should be happy its in Mexico…
O’Ward first came upon my collective radar
during His 2018 Indy Lights tilt, when I was rootin’ for the Mexican to beat
Andretti Autosport teammate Colton Herta for the title, which Pato did!
After making His IndyCar debut at the 2018
season finale at Sonoma for Harding Racing. Where Pato qualified an impressive
fifth and finished ninth! Following a lack of funding, Pato was released from
Harding Steinbrenner Racing and moved to Carlin.
Following a very brief, abortive IndyCar
beginning with Carlin, remember them Y’all? Pato joined the Red bull Junior
Driver Academy with hopes of joining Formula 1. Yet due to the miniscule (2018)
Indy Lights field, Pato’s championship points were cut in half, leaving O’Ward
unable to qualify for the necessary FIA Super license.
Hired to drive for Arrow McLaren SP in 2020
alongside Oliver Askew. A one Mr. Zakery Brown promised Pato a Formula 1 ride
if He won an IndyCar race, which O’Ward promptly did at Texas Motor Speedway,
His debutante IndyCar win just two days shy of His 22nd birthday!
Pato got His first taste of F1 in a
demonstration drive at Laguna Seca in November, 2021 behind the wheel of Mika
Hakkinen’s MP4/13. With the Double World Champion on hand to give advice…
In December, O’Ward tested the team’s current
McLaren MCL35 chassis during the yearly Abu Dhabi season finale Young Guns
test, where He finished a very impressive fourth fastest!
For Fall, 2022, Pato, along with some IndyCar
Hotschue’ named Alex Palou carried out two test sessions for McLaren in
Barcelona and Austria. Then Pato made His Free Practice (FP) session debut at
Abu Dhabi that December.
O’Ward made another Free Practice outing the
following year once again at Abu Dhabi, a circuit He must know fairly well now,
ci? Before being named as one of McLaren’s reserve drivers this year. Even
though O’Ward’s Day Job is firmly cemented in IndyCar’s.
Thus by my unofficial reckoning, Pato’s FP-1
outing at Mexico City marks the first time two Mexicans have been on a Formula
1 circuit simultaneously since fellow countrymen Checo’, nee Sergio Perez and
Esteban Gutierrez raced in the 2016 season finale Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ole!
Ironically Gutierrez, remember Him Y’all? Also
hails from Monterey Mexico, a la O’ward. With the former Sauber and Haas F1
driver Gutierrez having raced for Glickenhaus Racing in the FIA World Enduance
Championship. (WEC) Along with CrowdStrike Racing by APR in IMSA’s LMP2
category during 2023. Whilst I’ve got zero clue what Gutierrez is up to this
season?
As Pato says its been a dream of His to race on
Home soil for quite awhile now, and I can only surmise that He received a warm
reception in Mexico city, even if everybody showed up to root for Sergio Perez.
As who knows? Pato will probably drive an F1 car again for McLaren, since He’s
got nothing on His calendar until next March…
As that was before I read the news that O’Ward
will now run His Arrow Mclaren IndyCar in a demonstration run during next
January’s Formula E Mexico City E-Prix event. Along with also sampling one of
McLaren’s Formula E racecars also in a demonstration run. Did you hear that
Mark Miles, Ole!
Whilst Pato desperately wishes to participate in next year’s inaugural Mexico City NASCAR Cup event, for which I haven’t checked if it clashes with His Day Job? Along with oddly, His Boss Zak Brown mentioning O’Ward contesting the Day-Toner’ 500 some day…
