McLaren has announced that its star IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward will take part in a Free Practice 1 Formula 1 session later this year.
The Mexican driver will hop behind the wheel of the MCL60 for the opening session of the Abu Dhabi race weekend, which is the final race of the season and takes place on November 26.
O’Ward first sampled modern F1 machinery when he took part in a young driver test in 2021, and then drove in FP1 for McLaren at Abu Dhabi last season.
The initial invitation to test an F1 car was extended in part due to O’Ward’s successes in IndyCar, where he made good on a bet he had with McLaren CEO Zak Brown by winning his first IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway.
By rule, once per year every F1 entry on the grid has to be driven during FP1 by a driver that has no more than two grand prix starts.
The rule allows prospective talent a legitimate chance to break into the sport, but also forces teams to scramble a bit towards the end of the year to find a suitable driver to run the Friday session.
O’Ward will fulfil the second of the team’s two required FP1 rookie outings for the year, with Oscar Piastri making his run for McLaren at Bahrain.
O’Ward finished fourth in the championship in this year’s recently completed IndyCar season, finishing on the podium seven times but failing to secure a win.
The 24-year-old continues to be Arrow McLaren’s top driver in the American series, and will stay with the team for a fifth season in 2024.
O’Ward seems to have stuck to his plan to focus on IndyCar during that series’ season, and will devote a bit of time to continue his slow-and-steady F1 ambitions now that he has more available time.
