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A year ago, Pato O’ward of Arrow McLaren had a dream.
When he closed his eyes at night, O’ward told Pak Gazette Digital that he would dream of crossing the finish line in the Indy 500 before the rest of his competition.
“I’m still running multiple Indy 500 in my head. It’s crazy,” he said last May. “Try to mitigate it as much as you can, but this race … is different from anything else.”
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The Arrow McLaren Pato O’ward driver, #5, gives an approval to a group of children on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 during a practice for the 109th race of Indianapolis 500 in Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (IMAGN)
It seemed that the dream was about to come true when “the biggest show in the races” saw O’ward leading with a return to go until Josef Newgarden flew from behind and beyond the black car and orange McLaren to go out with the victory.
Instead of celebrating the victory in “The Brickyard”, O’ward collapsed on his vehicle when his team tried to comfort him. For the second time in three years, O’ward was runner -up.
Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’ward trusts while dreaming of Indy 500’s first victory: ‘We have a shot’
“I mean, at that time, it was a time when many emotions exploded from a bottle, and they were really uncontrollable,” Digital’s Pak Gazette told Pak Gazette before the great race on the weekend of the Fallen Day. “It was a very raw scene of what it is to be right there, but just lose it. They have sometimes been that this has happened, that’s why I think it was such a strong emotion.
“I dedicate and I do everything for this moment, sometimes it is just there, but I have not succeeded. It’s just the human side, I would say.”
Despite the results of the last years in Indianapolis, O’ward’s optimistic perspective on his profession has not hesitated this year’s career.
“I mean, this time last year, I had about three [did not finish] At this point, “he said while laughing.
“It is one of the only months throughout the year you can really enjoy the present, and you are not focused on the future, you are not focused on the past. You are focused where you are. It is a very surprising experience.”
Arrow McLaren Sp Driver Pato O’ward, #5, crosses the finish line in second place on Saturday, May 10, 2025 during the Sonsio Grand Prix in Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (IMAGN)
The sting of defeat is something that almost never leaves the mind, even a full year after it happens. However, with each failure, there is an opportunity to learn, and that is exactly what O’ward is getting since the end of last year.
“You have to be in the front in the last period,” he said when asked what he learned from last year’s finalist. “The last period is super important, but also a race that can turn a return to another just for a yellow flag that falls. There are many different strategies, and it is a race that you constantly want you to be flexible, agile. You need to adjust the candles, instead of going against it.”
In five openings this season, O’ward is still looking for his first victory, although he has two first and three best. As a result, it currently occupies the fourth place in the NTT Indycar series classification.
Perhaps his best race of the year arrived at the Indianapolis 2025 Grand Prix of Indianapolis last weekend, ending the second place behind Alex Palou.
While O’ward does not dream again about the celebration with his McLaren team, kissing the famous brick patio and drinking some milk, as usual for the champion, he is at the bottom of his mind somewhere.
That moment is what continues to carry it, especially knowing how close it was to realize that dream.
Arrow McLaren Driver Pato O’ward, #5, reacts after finishing second on Sunday, May 26, 2024 in the 108th position of the Indianapolis 500 in Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (IMAGN)
“I think at this point, it is a combination of many different things, but it has not been a reason like, ‘hey, we have been lucky to have these opportunities.’ No, we have put ourselves on these opportunities, and we have earned the position of having these opportunities,” he said. “I think that only gives me peace of mind with my central team. We know how to do this, we know how to put ourselves in positions to win this race.
“I think, deep down, it gives us a lot of confidence in itself that we are not looking for something we have never been to or that we are not looking for something that you have not done.”
INDY 500 will be broadcast on May 25 in Fox with pre-collery from 10 am et. It will also be available to broadcast live on FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports application.
