McLaren are short of an official Formula 1 reserve driver after Pato O'Ward "politely asked to be fired" from the role. The Mexican racer, who drives for the Arrow McLaren squad in IndyCar, has for the last few years also held additional responsibility as one of the drivers named as an official reserve for the F1 team. He has been particularly active in that role, making five practice appearances on race weekends, including two in Mexico City in front of his countrypeople.
O'Ward's changing perspective on F1
While he has performed well in IndyCar, most notably finishing as runner-up in the championship last year, O'Ward previously spoke often of a desire to race in F1 if the chance arose. However, he now has an entirely different outlook on that dream. Uninspired by the new engine formula, which has been much criticised by many drivers currently racing in F1, O'Ward has made it clear he has no desire to continue driving modern F1 machinery. He went as far as to ask chief executive Zak Brown to be relieved of his McLaren F1 duties.
Speaking on the Speed Street podcast, O'Ward explained: "Recently, actually, I obviously went to Zak [to speak about this] because he's the guy that calls the shots. I'm grateful for the experiences and all the things that I've been able to learn in the world of Formula 1. And obviously, driving those race cars, especially the last few years, has been just an amazing experience just to feel what they're capable of."
O'Ward's preference for IndyCar
O'Ward continued: "But I really think I'm just in a different point of my life now and I really don't care anymore. There's really nothing in me that is aching to keep on as a reserve in Formula 1 because I'm in a great place in IndyCar. I love the series. That's where I want to be."
He added: "Looking at what the [F1] race cars are currently, I'm not really excited to drive one. I can't tell you the amount of times that people are like, 'When Formula 1, when Formula 1?' And obviously that's been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid. But also being around that world for many years and inside of it – I know I wasn't a full-time racing driver there, but I have enough of a whiff of what that world is like – and I genuinely don't think that it's for me. It's not a place where I can say I've enjoyed [myself] more than IndyCar. It's not really somewhere where, at this point in time, I don't see my future there. I genuinely just don't."
Future in IndyCar and McLaren F1 plans
O'Ward will continue to race for McLaren's IndyCar team, having this week been confirmed as part of a refreshed driver line-up for 2027. His new team-mates are six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon and this year's Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist, while Arrow McLaren plan to field a fourth car again for the sport's showpiece event with Ryan Hunter-Reay set to compete in next year's Indianapolis race.
As for F1, McLaren say they don't currently expect any change on the driver front with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri tied down to contracts. However, talks have recently been held with Max Verstappen's camp, and new reports this week suggest such negotiations have progressed, as the four-time world champion assesses his options amid Red Bull's struggles.
