Pato O’Ward says he would be willing to take a break from his NTT IndyCar Series career in order to achieve his goal of reaching the FIA Formula 1 World Championship in the future.
The Mexican has become a genuine front runner in IndyCar across the past couple of seasons whilst racing for the Arrow McLaren SP team, and he has also tasted Formula 1 machinery with the sister McLaren F1 Team across 2022.
He tested the MCL35M from 2021 earlier this year alongside fellow IndyCar stars Colton Herta and Álex Palou and had his first experience of the MCL36 during a maiden free practice outing with McLaren ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November.
O’Ward has made it obvious in the past that he would like to race in Formula 1, and although his route to a race seat at McLaren looks blocked for now – they will race with two relatively young drivers on long-term contracts in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from 2023 – he still believes he can find his way onto the grid.
And he would be willing to sacrifice his ride in IndyCar to make this happen with the knowledge that he would likely be welcomed back to the series once his time in Formula 1 is over.
“I feel like I can always come back to IndyCar and the window of getting to Formula 1 is quite a bit narrower,” O’Ward is quoted as saying by MotorsportWeek.com. “I’m already in IndyCar now and I feel like I’ve established myself as one of the title contenders every single year.
“I love IndyCar racing, it’s some of the best racing in the world, if not the best in terms of how competitive it is. But I grew up watching Formula 1 and I grew up with the F1 dream as many other drivers around the world, and that’s what kind of opened my love to so many other categories.
“So I’m still very keen to make the switch to Formula 1. Will it happen? When will it happen? I have no idea, but I have a great team behind me.
“In terms of Formula 1, it’s a crazy world and doors you think will open won’t; things you don’t think will open will; or maybe both; or maybe both don’t! What I’ve learned is you can’t plan anything, you can’t even plan to the year. You can only plan what’s next.
“What’s next for me is hopefully winning more races and challenging for the championship in IndyCar as well as the Indy 500, and then will the opportunity open up? Of course if it does I’m going to be the first one to take it.”