Pato O’Ward has made it clear he would not leave the NTT IndyCar Series to drop into a junior championship in order to make a potential move to Formula 1.
The Mexican recently tested the 2021 McLaren MCL35M at the post-season test around the Yas Marina circuit and was taken aback by the pace of the car.
Despite winning the 2018 Indy Lights title, O’Ward struggled to get a full-time IndyCar seat for the following season and was signed into the Red Bull Junior Program.
As a result, the 22-year-old completed short stints in the Japanese Super Formula and FIA Formula 2 with little success and was released before the end of the year.
“I’m very happy where I am in IndyCar,” said O’Ward. “I’m going to be an IndyCar driver with McLaren next year, but if I could make the move over here it’s going to be straight from IndyCar.
“I don’t plan to go to any other junior, F2 or F3, I’ve driven the F2, I don’t have many good things to say about it to be perfectly honest with you. But F1 is just ridiculous.
“Yeah, straight from IndyCar to be perfectly honest I don’t think I’d have issues, I ended up very at home feeling everything out.
“I think the team can speak to that, they see a lot more of the analysis and everything, from a driver standpoint there was more pace I could extract later on whenever I get to know the car a bit more but in terms of getting to a very good baseline, I’m very happy with today.”
O’Ward did not want his day of testing to come to an end despite losing neck strength toward the end. Despite this, the Mexican is keen to gain more time in F1 machinery going forward.
“I didn’t want [it] to end, to be honest with you,” he added. “It’s just unbelievable. It’s just amazing, what all us racing drivers want to feel is just go as fast as you can, brake as late as you can, you want to feel everything, and this car gives you that and more.
“Obviously I didn’t know the car so for me, this is like ‘Oh my god!’ Probably once you get into a rhythm and know it a lot more 2-3-4 year drivers for sure more grip, which is understandable. These things bend the laws of physics, it’s just absurd, absurd what they’re able to do.
“Right now this is it. This is all that is planned right now but I told Zak, man, you’re going to spoil me, I’m going to be annoying you after that test.”
