Pato on his evolving Reserve role as he prepares for “special” drive in Mexico City
“Mexico is one of the most special Formula 1 tracks on the calendar, it’s just a vibe”
Read time: 7.7 minutes
When Pato O’Ward pulls out of the McLaren garage in the MCL38 and drives out in front of his home crowd at Mexico City’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, he’ll be ticking a major item off his bucket list.
Taking part in Free Practice 1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix, Pato will become the fifth Mexican to drive in an official Formula 1 session in their home country, joining the likes of Sergio Pérez and Esteban Gutiérrez.
The 25-year-old is no stranger to the F1 paddock and has previously joined us in the garage at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez for the race in Mexico City, but his two FP1 outings to date have taken place in Abu Dhabi. He expects that his third, in front of the passionate Mexican fanbase, will be even more memorable.
“I've been to Mexico many, many times for the Formula 1 Grand Prix, but have never actually been in the car, driving in front of everyone, so it will be a very new and cool experience for me, I am definitely going to enjoy it,” Pato says.
“Mexico is one of the most special Formula 1 tracks on the calendar, it’s just a vibe. The people are super passionate, and I have felt a lot of warmth and love for Mexican drivers in Formula 1, like Checo. I have also felt it in IndyCar, so I can imagine that driving at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Mexico will be pretty special.”
Pato has been a member of the McLaren Driver Development programme since its inception and was officially promoted to our pool of Formula 1 Reserve Drivers for the 2024 campaign, alongside his main role driving for the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team.
The 25-year-old’s F1 role is year-round, but his responsibilities have increased following the completion of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, where he finished fifth with three wins, two podiums and second place at the Indy 500. He’ll now step up to become a permanent fixture at the track with our F1 team for the remainder of the season, acting as our Reserve Driver.
“I've been mentally and physically ready since I got out of the IndyCar at the end of the 2024 season,” Pato says. “I know the travelling can get pretty heavy, but I am really looking forward to it and will try to take in as much information as possible.”
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In preparation for this, Pato has spent his off-season training and in regular contact with our F1 team. This included a recent Driver Development test at Silverstone in the MCL36 and two full days at the McLaren Technology Centre, in which time he drove each of the remaining six circuits on our next-gen simulator.
“You need to familiarise yourself with everything – the switches on the car, the procedures, everything,” he says. “I would say that driving is the part you practice the least because you need to go through the procedural side of things so that I can be ready to race on a Grand Prix weekend, if I am needed. But I have been getting time on the Formula 1 simulator as well because there are a lot of tracks coming up that I don’t know.
“I tested at Silverstone, which is a bucket list track, so that was special. Sadly, it was a little wet, so our running was cut short, but I was really happy with everything we got through there. It was good to get back into the sync of how it feels to drive a Formula 1 car.”
“I've been mentally and physically ready since I got out of the IndyCar at the end of the 2024 season”
Pato O'Ward
McLaren Racing Formula 1 Reserve Driver
Speaking from the MTC ahead of last weekend’s US Grand Prix, Pato had spent the day with our race and simulator teams working through the six remaining circuits, with a particular emphasis on the upcoming Mexico City Grand Prix, where he’ll be expected to provide key feedback to the team during his time on track.
“The biggest thing at this circuit is the altitude,” he says, having just walked us through a lap of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on the McLaren Shadow sim. “There isn’t any other car that has more downforce than a Formula 1 car, but because of the altitude, the cars really don’t have a lot of downforce.
“In terms of what it is like driving Abu Dhabi versus Mexico, the air is much denser, and the altitude really makes it a struggle for the engines. It's also a very slippery track, so traction's a big thing in Mexico.
“My role in FP1 is to try and help and make the weekend as smooth as possible for the team and trying to make Lando and Oscar’s jobs a little bit easier.”
Although his role in the Driver Development programme may differ slightly from that of our young drivers, he says that you should “never stop learning.”
“Ultimately, it's just striving for perfection,” he says. “The process never stops. You can always become better and better. I am trying to become the best in every way possible in and out of the car. As Andrea [Stella] says, be a sponge, absorb everything, and learn to apply it within seconds.
“At this level, people are there to help you and pinpoint things that you might not see. They’re there to guide you on where you can make improvements around a lap, and having this experience when you're put into a pressure situation and have to perform is quite important.
“I feel like I’ve grown as a professional and as a person in my time working with the IndyCar team and with the Formula 1 team – it’s all a process. I feel like I’ve evolved over the last few years.”