IndyCar star and McLaren reserve O'Ward to drive in FP1 at Mexico City Grand Prix

McLaren reserve driver Pato O’Ward will get behind the wheel of the MCL38 in front of his home crowd during FP1 at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

The Mexican driver – who has been dovetailing his role as reserve with his driving duties for Arrow McLaren in IndyCar – will get the opportunity due to F1 teams being required to run a young driver in two FP1 sessions per season.

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O’Ward, who earned promotion to McLaren’s reserve driver pool for the 2024 season, has had experience of F1 machinery before having taken part in several development tests in the team’s 2021 car. The 25-year-old has also driven in the 2021 young driver test in Abu Dhabi and also drove in FP1 at both the 2022 and 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekends.

“I’ve got some pretty exciting news to tell you all today,” said O’Ward in a video posted to McLaren’s social media channels. “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.”

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O’Ward is currently sixth in the 2024 IndyCar Series standings with 419 points across 16 starts, picking up three wins in that time.

The Mexico City Grand Prix weekend takes place from October 25-27 with McLaren currently challenging Red Bull in both constructors’ and drivers’ championships.