When the Formula 1 grid heads to Mexico in October for the Mexico City Grand Prix, McLaren will have a different driver in the MCL38 for FP1.
Current IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward.
In addition to his IndyCar duties with Arrow McLaren, O’Ward serves as a reserve driver for McLaren’s F1 team. This will not be O’Ward’s first time in an F1 car, as he participated in the 2021 test in Abu Dhabi, and also drove in FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in both 2022 and 2023.
However, driving in FP1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix gives him a chance to drive in front of his home crowd, an opportunity he called a “dream come true” in the announcement on social media:
“I cannot wait, this really is a dream come true for me – being able to jump into an F1 car in front of my home crowd. I can’t thank Andrea [Stella], Zak [Brown] – the whole team – enough for this amazing opportunity,” said the driver.
“The car’s been a rocket this year so [I’ll be] trying to do my part and help them as much as I can for the rest of the year. I’ve got Nashville this weekend in IndyCar, so that’s the priority now, but can’t wait to get going and I’m actually flying over to Europe at the end of this week to start all my Formula 1 duties. I can’t wait.”
O’Ward currently sits sixth in the 2024 IndyCar Series standings, with three wins. He last won the first Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250 Race at the end of August. O’Ward finished second in the 2024 Indianapolis 500.