Tough Times Ahead for Patricio O’Ward Ahead of Indy 500
In the latest IndyCar news, Patricio O’Ward, the 25-year-old Mexican driver, is facing a tough time ahead of the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. As the IndyCar 2023 season reaches its peak, O’Ward’s chances of winning the coveted race are diminishing due to an unidentified issue with his Arrow McLaren Chevrolet car.
O’Ward, who was IndyCar’s best shot at winning last year’s race until a crash in the closing stages, expressed his concerns after Monday’s practice session. Despite being fifth quickest in practice, the normally upbeat driver was uncharacteristically gloomy about his chances in the Indy 500.
“Definitely hasn’t been the best of the days of the month,” O’Ward said. “We’ve had some annoying issue that we just can’t seem to perfect. I just hope we can fix it. If not, we’re going to be in handicapped mode for the race.”
When questioned about the issue, O’Ward replied, “Too many variables.” He added, “We’re slow. We know what it is, but it’s a lot easier said than done to fix it or not have the issue. It just sucks when you’re not fast enough around here. You feel helpless.”
O’Ward will start the Indy 500 from eighth, mirroring his starting position from last year. The IndyCar standings show that O’Ward finished runner-up to Marcus Ericsson in 2022 from seventh on the grid.
Monday’s practice saw a lot of multi-car draft pack running, with some drivers able to work their way through to the front. However, others were unable to make forward progress. O’Ward commented, “I think it’s just part of what you have to kind of battle with around this place. There’s a fine line with everything.”
Team principal Gard Ward remains positive about McLaren’s chances this weekend, with just one more practice during Friday’s Carb Day to make its final race-trim decisions.
“It’s always amazing how you feel like you’ve got all the time in the world when you get here, and then when you get through qualifying, you don’t have much time left,” Ward said. “It was a busy session trying to get the Arrow McLaren Chevrolet cars as good as can be for the race. We feel pretty good about where we’re at and we have some happy drivers. We’re chipping away at things bit by bit. There’s one more session to go and then it’s time for the real thing.”
In other IndyCar news, Josef Newgarden paced an intense post-qualifying practice at 226.238mph, as drivers continued to fine-tune their cars for the big race.
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