McLaren has given Pato O’Ward a target of winning the IndyCar championship if he wants a chance in Formula 1 soon.
The Mexican, who was briefly part of the Red Bull stable in 2019, has made no secret of his ambition to join the F1 grid but has instead been racing in America for most of the past five years, including the last two with Arrow McLaren SP in IndyCar.
Last year O’Ward would finish third in the final standings, with his two wins also earning him an F1 outing at the young driver test in Abu Dhabi with McLaren, as per a bet with CEO Zak Brown.
“I think I’ve certainly over-delivered in IndyCar with where we’re at, in terms of the package currently, and I think we’re just going to get better, so that’s good,” he told Racer.
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“I think I’ve pretty much done more than I’ve been asked to do, so that’s all I can do and just wait – wait and see where my future takes me!
“At the end of the day, I’m just really grateful for the [F1 test] opportunity and just hope for another chance to take it for a spin again.”
O’Ward though also realised his window to make it to F1 was pretty small.
“To be fairly honest, arguably there’s a maximum of two more years for me to be able to come into the F1 scene,” he said. “There’s not much more time.
“I will do everything I can to make it happen, because it is the top of the top, and my dream and my life, right now, it all started with one dream, and that dream was to make it to Formula 1.
“That dream ambled out to different series, endurance racing and IndyCar racing. But it all started with that one dream. And I’d be lying if I said I don’t want it because I do.
“I’m going to do absolutely everything I can, and I’m going to push to my absolute maximum to make sure that I leave nothing on the table.
“Because you’ve got to take it. You’ve got to try because if I don’t, I will regret it for the rest of my life.”
I’m going to miss today? unbelievable machine. Thank you @McLarenF1
Voy a extrañar el día de hoy. Inolvidable experiencia. ¡Gracias EQUIPO! #McLaren #F1 pic.twitter.com/8PcAMR3HNo
— Pato O’Ward (@PatricioOWard) December 14, 2021
Going against him, however, is the FIA superlicence system which only sees the IndyCar champion get the necessary 40 to be eligible for F1, compared to the top three in F2.
“I mean, to me, it’s ridiculous that someone that’s been fourth and third in the IndyCar championship can’t get 40 points in the Super Licence. I think many drivers agree with me,” he said.
“But from what I understand, fourth would give you 10 points, third gives you 20, so I’m assuming I’m at 30 points of the Super Licence.
“I haven’t really stressed on that side because as much as I say, ‘Oh, maybe you can get a few points here, points there,’ at the end of the day you have to leave it to the people that want to give it to you.
“If they don’t want to give it to you, then sorry, bud, you’ve got to have another year and get 10 more points, I guess.”
In 2022, O’Ward will be back in IndyCar and will need a top-four finish in the standings to reach that 40-point milestone.
However, McLaren chief Brown has higher expectations.
“The quickest way to F1 is to go and do what Juan Pablo Montoya or Alex Zanardi or Jacques Villeneuve or Michael Andretti did – go win in IndyCar,” he said.
“That will be your best chance of getting into F1. He’s unbelievably talented. He’s a great personality. I think he’s got what it takes from a raw talent point of view to be a Formula 1 driver.
“Obviously Formula 1 is a much different discipline so he’s got a lot to learn, with all the buttons for example. But for sure he will [learn].
“He needs to stay very focused on IndyCar. It will be his best route into F1. I think his [two-year] timeline is about right.”
With Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo signed to multi-year deals at McLaren though, whether that chance in F1 would come at the Woking-based team remains to be seen.
