Pato O’Ward’s Rise to IndyCar Champion & Detroit GP Insights
Pato O’Ward is going to win the IndyCar championship this year. There, I said it.
He’s That Talented
I’ve had the honor to watch him over the past five seasons in IndyCar (and testing F1, driving Lewis Hamilton’s car at Goodwood, etc.), and there’s one thing that keeps coming up – he’s one of the best drivers in the world. I have no doubt he could succeed in F1 for McLaren (or any other team); Pato’s skill set on the track is world-class.
What’s Different This Year
But something’s changed. He’s a complete driver now. The man I met in our studio was dialed in on bigger picture things and gave me full confidence in saying this: “Discover why Pato O’Ward is set to win the IndyCar championship, highlighting his unmatched talent and promising season start, with insights from the Detroit Grand Prix.” will win the IndyCar championship this year.
Here’s part of our conversation in the studio (talking about the Detroit GP).
INDYCAR Driver Pato O’Ward:
Taking about the Detroit Grand Prix and the new downtown track (Pato response in bold)
(Big Jim): You’re in the moment racing. As a fan and someone, I can tell you that the visuals downtown are stunning when you guys are sailing down Jefferson.
(Pato): Oh, and how’s the sound?
(Big Jim): Oh, dude. It just echoes. I didn’t know parking garages were the greatest conduit of sound in the Motor City…. It just reverberates up and down the street. It sounds magical when you guys hit those things.
(Pato): I bet. Street courses, in general, are awesome. And, you know, as much as I miss Belle Isle, I think the energy in downtown Detroit has been phenomenal. And, you know, the ticket sales are up there. Yeah, that’s awesome to hear. People seem to like to watch the race from a rooftop. And I think we’ve got three of them. So it’s a relaxed vibe.
(Big Jim): So here’s my first question. You had a great run last week, right? Second place. Yeah, okay. It’s hard to start the year better than that. Okay. Are we doing the cliche thing where you go, “We got some good points for the team.”
(Pato): I had a solid run. I’m very excited about laying the foundation for what we hope is a fantastic year, you know, and when you start. You have a DNF, or you have a crappy weekend like that just doesn’t set the tone for what’s coming, so yeah, we wanted a podium we wanted to win. That’s what we didn’t quite have for the Penskes that weekend. Hence, I’m glad I slot myself between them in the second-best position, but do you mean second place? It’s great.
(Big Jim): I heard all the sounds, but nobody wanted to take second place. I would think it is as hyper-competitive as you are in everything, Pato; that second place is the first suck.
(Pato): yeah, you can see it that way, or you can see it too many. Will many more wins come if you keep putting yourself in that position? I think it’s just a matter of time before they start landing. I’m not worried about it. I think we’ll be just fine.
(Big Jim): Indy Car is such a competitive series. All of you can push it to 99%, but there’s something that 1 % puts you over the top in some races and puts Joseph over the top. What is that? What is that thing that sets you apart from the other drivers? I’ve seen you go off and destroy a field.
(Pato): Teamwork. You can’t do that without your team—the guys in the pits, the guys telling you what’s going on, your engineers. Yes, we are the ones in the car, but you need your guys to do their work as well as possible so you can extract that extra one percent.
The Detroit Grand Prix will be wild.
To say it will be fun watching the Detroit GP this year is an understatement. The drivers have a year under their belt, and passing zones that we didn’t even know existed are part of their DNA. To get your tickets here.
