Join our season preview series where we break down storylines to watch out for in 2025 with each of Arrow McLaren’s three drivers. 

The series concludes with the pilot of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and veteran of the team, Pato O’Ward. 

One big thing: taking the points 

Pato is undoubtedly one of the top contenders for both an Indianapolis 500 victory and NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship year in and year out. He’s entered the last 10 laps of each of the last three Indy 500’s with a chance at the win, and has finished in the top five in the Championship three of the last four seasons. 

So, what’s missing? 

According to race engineer Will Anderson, the focus is on “finishing races where we need to take home points.” 

Pato and Will agree that it’s not about the weekends where they contend for a win, but rather making the most of the weekends when they might not have a winning car. In the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, no one is going to be on the podium every weekend – the competition is too stiff. But the difference between a DNF and grinding out a P9 on those weekends when the car isn’t in the window is, and has been, the difference between a championship and going home without hardware. 

“Finishing every lap of every race is an underrated and difficult thing to do,” Pato says. “Over the last few years, we’ve had a lot of DNFs. It’s a real bad day when you have one of those. It’s so important to finish every race. I’ve been close to a championship before, but I feel like if we accomplish that goal of finishing every lap, that will get us into a really good position.” 

Race to race consistency tends to be a hallmark quality among championship winners in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The No. 5 crew spent the offseason digging into their weak areas from 2024 so that they can come into this season with a consistent package at every track they show up to.  

The search for consistency didn’t stop with on-track strategy and execution, either. Pato said he put extra effort this offseason into refining his diet, which is something he’s been working to find a perfect mix for years. 

“I had never found the perfect diet or program before, but I feel good right now that I’m getting everything I need without feeling like I’m starving myself,” Pato says. “I definitely feel physically that I’ll be in such a strong place, and that correlates to your mental focus, too. You enter the season with a couple wins on how you feel and treat your body, and I think that’s so important to how you get through a long season.” 

With a long season comes highs and lows, and 2024 certainly saw the extremes of both – a career-best three wins for Pato, but also three DNFs. Entering 2025, the No. 5 team is hopeful that they’ve done the work that will help them keep maximizing weekends in the window while mitigating damage when they’re not.  

Momentum is on their side, but results are what count. Now, it’s time to go racing. 

Keep an eye out for

• Pato spent the Fall with the Formula 1 team serving in his Driver Development program role, and he said his biggest takeaway was to embrace pressure. “You could feel the pressure they were under, but they all had the mentality that it was a privilege to be in this position...I want the pressure because that means you’re the team people want to beat.”  

• The biggest area for growth the team identified this last offseason was performance on bumpy street circuits. Will noted the team put extra emphasis on that package roll off the trucks in places like Toronto and Long Beach in be more competitive from the jump 

What to know about the crew 

Aside from the departure of Kate Gundlach to be Nolan Siegel’s Race Engineer, Pato’s crew remains relatively unchanged. That consistency is something that Pato hasn’t taken for granted, because the relationships he’s built across his unit have helped immensely. No relationship may be more important than the one he has with his Race Engineer, Will Anderson. 

“He’s not just my engineer, but he’s also become a very good friend. He's someone that I can trust and talk to, and that relationship keeps getting stronger. He knows how to read me and knows where my head is at. That chemistry is tough to find,” Pato said. 

Will and Pato get together for dinner occasionally to talk about non-racing stuff, which has helped their connection on the track. 

“We have a great relationship just knowing how to communicate,” Will said. “What he needs from the car, how we can give that to him, how we work with the other engineers to get what he needs. We just know how to interpret each other.” 

2025 outlook 

The goal for Pato is to complete every lap this season, which would be an impressive feat but something he’s worked hard toward achieving. Ultimately, though, reaching that goal means he would be lifting some hardware this season. And for Will, there are two pieces that are most important. 

“It’s obvious to say, but we want an Indy 500 and an INDYCAR championship. They’re lofty goals, but they’re things this group can achieve, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”