McLaren junior driver Pato O’Ward has had an incredible racing career at just the age of 24, achieving four wins in the Indycar Series with 20 podiums. The Mexican driver has driven for Arrow McLaren since 2020 after departing from Carlin.

O’Ward has had multiple brushes with Formula One throughout his career, starting when he signed to join the Red Bull Junior team in 2019. After one F2 race replacing Mahaveer Ragunathan, O’Ward drove three Super Formula races to progress to F1. Patricio O’Ward subsequently left the Super Formula Championship to race for McLaren in Indycar, from where McLaren CEO Zak Brown promised the Mexican future test sessions in Formula One cars.

Pato O’Ward has now accumulated enough FIA Super License points to garner an F1 seat. O’Ward has joined McLaren as a reserve driver for the 2024 season. The other two reserves for McLaren are Mick Schumacher and Felipe Drugovich, both of whom also have reserve roles for other teams.

O’Ward’s arrival into the F1 roster makes him the second Mexican in the driver pool along with Sergio Perez. The 24-year-old will make his first appearance for McLaren in the FP1 session at the upcoming Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella welcomes Pato O’Ward

24-year-old Pato O’Ward has joined the McLaren driver roster as a reserve driver for 2024. The Mexican will be partaking in FP1 for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. O’Ward will be joining the reserve pool that currently has Mick Schumacher and Felipe Drugovch.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella commended O’Ward’s performance in the Indycar Series, where he achieved four race wins. O’Ward finished fourth in the standings for Arrow McLaren. Andrea Stella said that O’Ward had done well in the driver development tests, and will be progressing to the new role after getting the sufficient FIA Super License points.

Pato had an impressive season in the NTT IndyCar Series and has performed well in his Driver Development tests, so it felt natural to take this next step now he’s eligible for an FIA Super License.

Andrea Stella said, as reported by autoweek.com

Pato O’Ward will be a reserve driver for McLaren, but will not be able to fill a seat in the team until the end of the 2025 season. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are contracted till the end of 2025, after an incredible 2023 season for both drivers. There is still one open seat for 2024, but O’Ward will not be competing due to his reserve driver responsibilities.

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