O’Ward to run in FP1 for McLaren in Mexico

Pato O’Ward will make his latest Formula 1 appearance for McLaren at his home race when he takes part in FP1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

The 25-year-old is one of McLaren’s reserve drivers alongside his full-time IndyCar ride with Arrow McLaren, and has carried out FP1 runs in Abu Dhabi on two occasions in the past. But O’Ward will now get to make his latest outing at his home race, driving in Mexico City on October 25 following the conclusion of the IndyCar season this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway.

“I’ve got some pretty exciting news to tell you all today,” O’Ward posted in a social media video. “I will be joining McLaren Formula 1 at the Mexican Grand Prix but this time around I will be jumping in the car for FP1.

“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.

“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 is currently sixth in the IndyCar standings heading into the final race weekend, and shares reserve duties for McLaren with Ryo Hirakawa after securing his FIA Super License last year. As well as his previous two FP1 outings, the Mexican has completed young driver test running and testing of a previous car (TPC) for McLaren in the past.