Pato O'Ward

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is O'Ward and the second or maternal family name is Junco.

Pato O'Ward
Pato O'Ward during the Grand Prix of Long Beach 2021
Nationality	Mexican
Born	Patricio O'Ward Junco (1999-05-06) 6 May 1999 Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
IndyCar Series career
38 races run over 4 years
Team(s)	No. 5 (Arrow McLaren SP)
Best finish	3rd (2021)
First race	2018 GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma (Sonoma)
Last race	2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach)
First win	2021 XPEL 375 (Texas)
Last win	2021 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Race 2 (Detroit)
Wins Podiums Poles 2 9 4
Statistics current as of September 26, 2021
Previous series
2019 2017-18 2017 2016 2016 2015-16 2015-16 2014 2013 2013 2013	Super Formula Indy Lights WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Pro Mazda Championship IMSA Mazda Prototype Lites - L1 NACAM Formula 4 Championship Pro Mazda Championship French F4 Championship Latam Fórmula 2000 Formula Renault 1.6 NEC Pacific Formula F2000
Championship titles
2018 2017	Indy Lights WTSC PC
Awards
2020	Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year
.

Patricio "Pato" O'Ward Junco (born 6 May 1999) is a Mexican professional auto racing driver who competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. He is the 2018 Indy Lights champion.

Early life and career

O'Ward exiting the pits during qualifying at Sonoma in 2018, where he qualified fifth in his IndyCar debut

Born to Patricio O'Ward and Elba Junco in Monterrey, Mexico, he attended school in San Antonio, Texas. He is of Irish descent.

O'Ward began his racing career in karting at the end of 2005 and remained in karting until 2012. During 2013, he competed in open-wheel racing, in Latam Fórmula 2000, Formula Renault 1.6 NEC and Pacific Formula F2000. In 2014, O'Ward competed in French F4 Championship.

In 2015, O'Ward debuted in the Pro Mazda Championship with Team Pelfrey, finishing sixth in the championship. In 2016, O'Ward returned to compete with Team Pelfrey in the Pro Mazda Championship, finishing the season as championship runner-up to Aaron Telitz.

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

In 2017, O'Ward competed in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Performance Tech Motorsports in the Prototype Challenge (PC) class. O'Ward and his co-drivers won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in the PC class, making him the youngest driver ever to win both races at 17 years old. He went on to win the 2017 Prototype Challenge drivers championship, alongside James French, and the North American Endurance Cup, alongside French and Kyle Masson.

Indy Lights

In 2018, O'Ward signed with Andretti Autosport to compete in the Indy Lights championship. He won nine of the 17 races, was named Rookie of the Year and won the drivers championship at the penultimate race of the season in Portland, besting runner-up Colton Herta.

Stint with Red Bull Junior Team

In May 2019, O'Ward was signed to the Red Bull Junior Team and the following month, was placed on a one-event deal to compete at the Red Bull Ring in Formula 2, substituting for the banned Mahaveer Raghunathan, and was announced as Dan Ticktum's replacement in the Super Formula Championship.

Due to a decision by the FIA to award fewer Super License points for O'Ward's Indy Lights championship win, O'Ward was unable to attain the required points to be able to race Formula One in 2020 and thus was not retained by Red Bull past 2019. With IndyCar series rides available, Red Bull driver development program head Helmut Marko granted O'Ward an early release from his contract after three Super Formula rounds.

IndyCar

IndyCar debut (2018)

Two weeks after clinching the 2018 Indy Lights championship title, O'Ward made his IndyCar Series debut at Sonoma Raceway in a second Harding Racing entry, where he qualified fifth and finished ninth. This tied him with David Martínez for the best finish on debut by a Mexican driver in American open-wheel racing.

Part-time drive with Carlin (2019)

In 2019, O'Ward was scheduled to move up to the IndyCar Series full-time, piloting the No. 8 entry for Harding Steinbrenner Racing. However, sponsorship issues led to O'Ward being granted his release from the team on February 11, 2019.

On March 7, O'Ward joined Carlin on a part-time deal that saw him drive in 13 races in the 2019 season. O'Ward drove Carlin's second entry for 12 races and drove Carlin's third entry for the Indianapolis 500. O'Ward failed to qualify for the Indy 500 along with Carlin teammate Max Chilton and the Carlin-prepared car of McLaren Racing's Fernando Alonso. His Red Bull deal, which was signed in May, also saw him only compete in eight of the 13 events he originally signed for. He placed 26th in the final points standings, with the best race finish of eighth, achieved at the Circuit of the Americas.

On October 30, it was announced that O'Ward had returned to IndyCar by signing a deal with Arrow McLaren SP for the 2020 season.

Arrow McLaren SP (2020–present)

2020: Indianapolis 500 success

In his first season for Arrow McLaren SP (AMSP), O'Ward was partnered by Oliver Askew for most races, with Hélio Castroneves replacing Askew at the Harvest GP and with Fernando Alonso in a third entry at the Indianapolis 500. O’Ward had a strong start to 2020, clinching pole position and achieving his first podium finish at the second round of the Road America double-header, finishing second. At Iowa, he finished fourth in the first race. He was fourth in the overall points standings heading into the Indianapolis 500, which was held in August due to the COVID-19 pandemic. O'Ward would go on to finish sixth in his first Indianapolis 500 start and won the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award for his performance. He subsequently scored consecutive podium finishes in the double-header at World Wide Technology Raceway.

O'Ward was placing as high as third in the driver standings before finishing eleventh and ninth at the double-header at Mid-Ohio and a disappointing 22nd place at the first race of the Harvest GP double-header at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which dropped him to fifth in the overall standings. After signing a new deal with AMSP, he finished second in the season finale at St. Petersburg, securing fourth in the final championship standings.

2021: Championship fight

O'Ward's second season with Arrow McLaren SP saw him partner Felix Rosenqvist, previously of Chip Ganassi Racing. O'Ward emerged as a title contender in 2021. He started the season off by earning his second career pole position at the season opener at Barber but was unable to convert that pole position into a win. O'Ward took his first podium of the season with a third-place finish in the first race at the Texas Motor Speedway and took his maiden IndyCar victory in the second race the following day. He became the first Mexican driver to win an IndyCar race since Adrian Fernandez in 2004 at Fontana and the first Chevrolet driver not from Team Penske to win a race since 2016.

After taking his first win, O'Ward never dropped lower than third in the championship standings, consistently fending off series champions Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon while challenging Álex Palou for much of the season. He started on the pole and finished third at the first race at the Detroit double-header and scored his second win of the season at the second race, his first win on a street course. He achieved his third pole position of the season at the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix, where he eventually finished fifth in the race. He achieved another podium with a second-place finish at Gateway, taking the championship lead for the first time in the season. However, a 14th place finish at Portland by O'Ward saw race-winner Palou retake the lead. At the penultimate race of the season, he clinched a fifth-place finish, remaining second in the points standings heading into the season finale.

At the season finale at Long Beach, O'Ward was one of three drivers who were mathematically in contention for the series title, alongside Palou and Newgarden. To win the title, barring Palou retiring from the race, O'Ward would have to earn the bonus point from qualifying for the pole position, win the race, and hope Palou finished no better than thirteenth to not have a tiebreaker scenario come into play. After a controversial qualifying session where he failed to advance to the Firestone Fast Six and qualified eighth, O'Ward was taken out by Ed Jones early in the race and ultimately retired from the race due to a broken driveshaft, effectively ending his championship hopes. He ultimately finished third in the championship behind Palou and Newgarden. O'Ward secured his first IndyCar track discipline championship when he won the A.J. Foyt Cup as the highest-scoring driver in the series on oval courses in 2021.

Formula One

McLaren test

Before the 2021 IndyCar Series season, McLaren CEO Zak Brown promised O'Ward a test of the McLaren MCL35M if he could win at least one IndyCar race. O'Ward held up his end of the deal with McLaren after winning the XPEL 375 and Brown subsequently confirmed O'Ward would get the promised F1 test. O'Ward got his first opportunity to drive a Formula One Car on November 14, 2021, when he demonstrated a McLaren MP4/13 at Laguna Seca. Two time Formula One World Champion Mika Häkkinen, who drove the MP4/13 to his first Driver's Championship, was on hand to help familiarize O'Ward with the car. During the run, O'Ward beat his fastest lap time around Laguna Seca in the Dallara DW12 with the UAK18 aero kit by over a second with the MP4/13.

On December 12, 2021, O'Ward tested the MCL35M as part of a tire compound test by F1 tire supplier Pirelli at the end of the season in Abu Dhabi, where he finished fourth-fastest after completing 92 laps. Despite speculation that the test could lead to O'Ward moving up to Formula 1 upon a strong performance, Brown dismissed those rumors by confirming O'Ward would be back with McLaren in IndyCar for the 2022 season, following McLaren's purchase of 75% ownership stake in Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Brown later stated that the Abu Dhabi test could lead to O'Ward getting additional Formula One tests and even race weekend practice time, if O'Ward adapts to the car and the tires well, but added that O'Ward would have to win the IndyCar Series championship for McLaren to consider moving him from IndyCar to Formula One.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2013	Pacific Formula F2000	Dave Freitas Racing	5	4	2	5	5	165	5th
	Formula Renault 1.6 NEC	Provily Racing	6	0	0	0	0	117	7th
	Latam Fórmula 2000	Paradise Racing	6	0	0	0	0	44	12th
2014	French F4 Championship	Auto Sport Academy	15	1	0	0	2	143	7th
2015	Pro Mazda Championship	Team Pelfrey	16	0	0	1	3	250	6th
2015–16	NACAM Formula 4 Championship	Martiga EG	12	6	2	5	11	247	3rd
2016	Pro Mazda Championship	Team Pelfrey	16	7	5	8	9	393	2nd
	Mazda Prototype Lites	Performance Tech Motorsports	2	0	0	0	1	32	16th
2017	Indy Lights	Team Pelfrey	4	0	0	0	1	58	15th
	WeatherTech SportsCar Championship - PC	Performance Tech Motorsports	8	7	0	8	8	283	1st
	North American Endurance Cup - PC		4	3	0	4	4	56	1st
2018	Indy Lights	Andretti Autosport	17	9	9	4	13	491	1st
	WeatherTech SportsCar Championship	Performance Tech Motorsports	2	0	0	0	0	41	41st
	IndyCar Series	Harding Racing	1	0	0	0	0	44	31st
2019	IndyCar Series	Carlin	7	0	0	1	0	115	26th
	Super Formula	Team Mugen	3	0	0	0	0	3	18th
	FIA Formula 2 Championship	MP Motorsport	2	0	0	0	0	0	26th
2020	IndyCar Series	Arrow McLaren SP	14	0	1	1	4	416	4th
2021	IndyCar Series	Arrow McLaren SP	16	2	3	2	5	487	3rd

* Season still in progress.

American open-wheel racing results

Pro Mazda Championship

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points
2015	Team Pelfrey	STP 4	STP 14	LOU 4	LOU C	BAR 5	BAR 7	IMS 6	IMS 10	IMS 5	LOR 7	TOR 2	TOR 3	IOW 3	MOH 7	MOH 6	LAG 18	LAG 6	6th	250
2016	Team Pelfrey	STP 1	STP 2	BAR 1	BAR 1	IMS 1	IMS 1	LOR 1	ROA 4	ROA 4	TOR 9	TOR 2	MOH 7	MOH 4	LAG 1	LAG 10	LAG 6		2nd	393

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points
2017	Team Pelfrey	STP 5	STP 3	ALA 8	ALA 15	IMS	IMS	INDY	ROA	ROA	IOW	TOR	TOR	MDO	MDO	GMP	WGL		15th	58
2018	Andretti Autosport	STP 1	STP 7	ALA 1	ALA 1	IMS 4	IMS 7	INDY 2	RDA 2	RDA 4	IOW 1	TOR 1	TOR 2	MDO 1	MDO 1	GTW 3	POR 1	POR 1	1st	491

IndyCar Series

(key)

Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points
2018	Harding Racing	Dallara DW12	8	Chevrolet	STP	PHX	LBH	ALA	IMS	INDY	DET	DET	TXS	RDA	IOW	TOR	MDO	POC	GTW	POR	SNM 9	31st	44
2019	Carlin		31		STP	COA 8	ALA 16	LBH 12	IMS 19	INDY DNQ	DET 14	DET 11	TXS	RDA 17	TOR	IOW	MDO	POC	GTW	POR	LAG	26th	115
2020	Arrow McLaren SP		5		TXS 12	IMS 8	ROA 8	ROA 2	IOW 4	IOW 12	INDY 6	GTW 3	GTW 2	MDO 11	MDO 9	IMS 22	IMS 5	STP 2				4th	416
2021					ALA 4	STP 19	TXS 3	TXS 1	IMS 15	INDY 4	DET 3	DET 1	ROA 9	MDO 8	NSH 13	IMS 5	GTW 2	POR 14	LAG 5	LBH 27		3rd	487

* Season still in progress.

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
2019	Dallara	Chevrolet	DNQ		Carlin
2020	Dallara	Chevrolet	15	6	Arrow McLaren SP
2021	Dallara	Chevrolet	12	4	Arrow McLaren SP

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Rank	Points
2017	Performance Tech Motorsports	PC	Oreca FLM09	Chevrolet LS3 6.2 L V8	DAY 1	SEB 1	COA 1	DET 1	WAT 1	MOS 1	ELK 1	PET 3			1st	283
2018	Performance Tech Motorsports	P	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	DAY 8	SEB 13	LBH	MDO	DET	WGL	MOS	ELK	LGA	PET	41st	41

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	DC	Points
2019	MP Motorsport	BHR FEA	BHR SPR	BAK FEA	BAK SPR	CAT FEA	CAT SPR	MON FEA	MON SPR	LEC FEA	LEC SPR	RBR FEA 19	RBR SPR 14	SIL FEA	SIL SPR	HUN FEA	HUN SPR	SPA FEA	SPA SPR	MNZ FEA	MNZ SPR	SOC FEA	SOC SPR	YMC FEA	YMC SPR	26th	0

Complete Super Formula results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	DC	Points
2019	Team Mugen	SUZ	AUT	SUG	FUJ 14	MOT 14	OKA 6	SUZ	18th	3

External links

• Official website
• Pato O'Ward career summary at DriverDB.com