There has always been a debate over the difficulty of getting an F1 seat. The most probable ways are being a part of a junior program and then impressing massively in the junior formulas. But recently, there has been a new trend of uber-talented Indy car drivers knocking on the doors of F1 seats. One such young talent is 22-year-old Mexican Pato O’Ward.
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Pato O’Ward soon to be in an F1 seat?
As a McLaren Arrow SP driver, O’Ward naturally has strong ties to the McLaren F1 team. He has also tested the McLaren MCL35M as a part of winning a bet against McLaren boss Zak Brown. However, his door to the seat remains closed with both Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo wanting to continue with the Papaya team.
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via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Young Driver Test – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – December 14, 2021 McLaren’s Pato O’Ward during testing REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Recently, when asked about his F1 ambitions, the Mexican driver has said “For now, I have a long championship ahead of me,”. He aims to achieve something more in the Indy Car scene.
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He also said, “I am currently under McLaren contract. As with everything, there are scenarios that could make me stay where I am, and there are scenarios that could make me end up in a different place.” This shows that he has left his options open with regard to an F1 seat. What do you this would come next for the Indy car youngster?
Indy Car’s young blood
The current crop of Indy Car drivers are some of the best single-seater youngsters in the world. The likes of Patricio O’Ward and Colton Herta have been entering their name in the contention of F1 seats along with the likes of Oscar Piastri, Callum Ilott, and other F2 graduates.
Welcome, @ColtonHerta. 🤝🇺🇸
With the new Formula 1 sporting regulations, Colton will be a part of our 2021 MCL35M testing programme in 2022.— McLaren (@McLarenF1) March 12, 2022
Both of them have F1 links with McLaren and have been promised testing runs in the F1 machinery. Also, the possible entry of an American team like Andretti could possibly open the floodgates for Indy Car talent into F1.
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