Two-Time Indy 500 Runner-Up · IndyCar

Pato O'Ward

Twelve IndyCar wins, two second places at the Indianapolis 500, and in August 2026 two victories on the same day — the first driver to do that in forty-five years. He drives the No. 5 for Arrow McLaren.

Nationality
Mexican
Born
6 May 1999 · Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
Team
Arrow McLaren, No. 5 (since 2020)
Best championship
2nd (2025)
Indy 500
Second in 2022 and 2024 · Rookie of the Year 2020
Also
2018 Indy Lights champion · McLaren Formula One reserve
Shop the Collection Watch highlights
Two-Time Indy 500 Runner-Up
2018 — Present
12
IndyCar Wins
35
Podium Finishes
123
Career Starts
2nd
2025 Championship

Who is Pato O'Ward?

Pato O'Ward (born 6 May 1999) is a Mexican racing driver who competes in the IndyCar Series for Arrow McLaren in the No. 5 Chevrolet. He has won twelve races and 35 podiums from 123 starts, finished second in the 2025 championship, and been runner-up at the Indianapolis 500 twice, in 2022 and 2024. He won the 2018 Indy Lights title.

Full name
Patricio O'Ward Junco
Nationality
Mexican
IndyCar career
2018–present
Best known for
Two Indianapolis 500 second places and a same-day double at Milwaukee

By KozmozInspire Editorial Published Updated 9 sources

Rider Profile

Pato O'Ward: Full Biography

Patricio “Pato” O’Ward Junco is a Mexican racing driver who has won twelve IndyCar Series races and finished second in the championship in 2025. He drives the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren, and has been runner-up at the Indianapolis 500 twice, in 2022 and 2024.

Monterrey He was born in Monterrey and came up through Mexican and European junior categories — NACAM Formula 4, French F4, Pro Mazda — before winning the IMSA Prototype Challenge title in 2017 and the Indy Lights championship in 2018. He made his IndyCar debut that year at Sonoma with Harding Racing.

The Formula One Detour Red Bull signed him to its junior programme in May 2019 and gave him a one-off Formula 2 outing and a Super Formula seat. When the FIA reduced the super licence points awarded for an Indy Lights title, he could no longer reach the threshold to race in Formula One, and Red Bull let him go. He has since tested for McLaren and served as a Formula One reserve driver.

Arrow McLaren He joined the team for 2020, was Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, and won for the first time at Texas in 2021. Twelve wins have followed across nine seasons, along with 35 podiums from 123 starts. In August 2026 he won both races of the Milwaukee doubleheader on the same day.

The Career

Three Chapters That Defined Pato O'Ward

Chapter 01

Monterrey

He was born in Monterrey in 1999 and worked his way up through categories on both sides of the Atlantic — NACAM Formula 4 in Mexico, French F4, Pro Mazda and Mazda Prototype Lites in the United States. In 2017 he won the IMSA Prototype Challenge title, and in 2018 the Indy Lights championship, which brought an IndyCar debut at Sonoma with Harding Racing that September. Then came the part that did not work. Red Bull signed him to its junior team in May 2019, put him in a Formula 2 car for a single event at the Red Bull Ring and into Super Formula in Japan. But the FIA had reduced the number of super licence points awarded for winning Indy Lights, and without them he could not reach the total required to race in Formula One in 2020. Red Bull did not keep him. With a McLaren IndyCar seat available, Helmut Marko released him from his contract early, after three Super Formula rounds.

Pato O'Ward's white and green CDMX-liveried Indy Lights car, number 27, on track during qualifying at Road America in 2018, the season he won the championship. Indy Lights · qualifying at Road America, 2018 Photo: Pato O'Ward, Indy Lights, qualifying at Road America (2018) by Willsome429 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Chapter 02

Arrow McLaren

He joined Arrow McLaren SP for 2020 and finished sixth at the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie, taking the Rookie of the Year award and fourth place in the championship. Before the following season Zak Brown promised him a run in a McLaren Formula One car if he won an IndyCar race, and he collected at Texas in the XPEL 375. Brown paid up twice over: in November 2021 O'Ward demonstrated the 1998 McLaren MP4/13 at Laguna Seca with Mika Häkkinen, who had won a world championship in that car, on hand to help — and went more than a second quicker around the circuit than he had managed in his own IndyCar. A month later he tested the MCL35M in Abu Dhabi and was fourth fastest over 92 laps. Brown's verdict afterwards was that the road to a Formula One seat ran through an IndyCar championship first.

Pato O'Ward's orange and black Arrow McLaren Dallara-Chevrolet, car 5, panned at speed over the kerb at Road America in 2021. Arrow McLaren · Road America, 2021 Photo: Pato O'Ward, Arrow McLaren, Road America (2021) by Arturo Hurtado / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Chapter 03

Second, and Then Two in a Day

The Indianapolis 500 has been the recurring near-miss. He failed to qualify on his first attempt in 2019, was sixth as a rookie in 2020 and fourth in 2021, then second in 2022. He led it in 2023 before finishing twenty-fourth, and in 2024 he was second again, passed by Josef Newgarden at turn three on the final lap. Third followed in 2025 and fourth in 2026. The championship has run much the same way: third in 2021, then runner-up for the first time in 2025. And then, on 30 August 2026 at the Milwaukee Mile, he won two IndyCar races on the same day, taking the second by 1.7535 seconds from David Malukas — the first driver to manage a same-day double since Rick Mears swept a doubleheader at Atlanta in June 1981.

Pato O'Ward's dark Arrow McLaren car, number 5, leading on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway banking during the 2023 Indianapolis 500. Leading the Indianapolis 500, 2023 Photo: Pato O'Ward leading the Indianapolis 500 (2023) by 350z33 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (resized) · licence
Career Timeline

Pato O'Ward Career Timeline: 1999–Present

Born in Monterrey

Patricio O'Ward Junco is born on 6 May in Monterrey, Nuevo León.

French F4

Races in Europe after karting in Mexico.

Pro Mazda

Moves into the American open-wheel ladder.

IMSA Title

Wins the IMSA Prototype Challenge championship.

Indy Lights Champion

Takes the title and debuts in IndyCar at Sonoma with Harding Racing.

Red Bull

Signed to the junior team, with a Formula 2 outing and a Super Formula seat, then released.

Arrow McLaren

Joins the team, is Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year and fourth in the championship.

First Win, and an F1 Test

Wins at Texas, then drives a McLaren MP4/13 and tests the MCL35M.

Second at Indianapolis

Finishes runner-up in the 500 for the first time.

Second Again

Passed on the last lap of the Indianapolis 500 by Josef Newgarden.

Championship Runner-Up

Finishes second in the standings, his best result.

Two in a Day

Wins both Milwaukee races on the same day, a first in forty-five years.

Mid-Ohio

Also takes his first win of the season at Mid-Ohio in July.

By the Numbers

Pato O'Ward IndyCar Record, Season by Season

Pato O'Ward season-by-season record: team, wins, poles, podiums, points and final standing.
SeasonTeam Wins Poles Podiums Points Pos.
2018 Harding Racing 0 0 0 44 31
2019 Carlin 0 0 0 115 26
2020 Arrow McLaren SP 0 1 4 416 4
2021 Arrow McLaren SP 2 3 5 487 3
2022 Arrow McLaren SP 2 1 4 480 7
2023 Arrow McLaren 0 0 7 484 4
2024 Arrow McLaren 3 0 6 460 5
2025 Arrow McLaren 2 2 6 515 2
2026 Arrow McLaren 3 0 3 503 4*

No season is highlighted because he has not won the championship; his best finish is second, in 2025. Career totals: 12 wins · 7 pole positions · 35 podiums from 123 starts. Every column sums to exactly those figures, and all three agree with both the Wikipedia infobox and IndyCar's official driver page — the cleanest reconciliation of any IndyCar page on this roster. The 2026 row is marked with an asterisk on the position because the season is still in progress, with the Laguna Seca finale to run; its figures are current to the Milwaukee doubleheader of 30 August. His Formula 2, Super Formula, IMSA and Indy Lights campaigns are covered in the biography and timeline rather than here. Figures verified 3 September 2026.

Pato O'Ward in his own words

In His Own Words
We got to win both in a day. That's definitely a dream come true for myself and the team.
Pato O'Ward · after winning twice in a day at the Milwaukee Mile, August 2026
Frequently Asked

Pato O'Ward: Frequently Asked Questions

How many IndyCar races has Pato O'Ward won?

Twelve, from 123 starts, along with 35 podium finishes and seven pole positions. His first came in the XPEL 375 at Texas in 2021 and his most recent in the second of the two Milwaukee races in August 2026.

Has Pato O'Ward won the Indianapolis 500?

Not yet. He has finished second twice, in 2022 and in 2024, when Josef Newgarden passed him at turn three on the final lap, and third in 2025. He was Rookie of the Year there in 2020, and failed to qualify on his first attempt in 2019.

What did Pato O'Ward do at Milwaukee in 2026?

He won both races of the doubleheader on the same day, 30 August, taking the second by 1.7535 seconds from David Malukas. He is the first driver to win two IndyCar races on the same day since Rick Mears swept a doubleheader at Atlanta on 28 June 1981.

Has Pato O'Ward driven a Formula One car?

Yes, though never in a grand prix. Zak Brown promised him a test if he won an IndyCar race; after Texas in 2021 he demonstrated McLaren's 1998 MP4/13 at Laguna Seca with Mika Häkkinen present, and tested the MCL35M in Abu Dhabi that December, finishing fourth fastest over 92 laps. He has also been a McLaren Formula One reserve driver.

Why did Red Bull drop Pato O'Ward?

The FIA reduced the number of super licence points awarded for winning the Indy Lights championship, which left him short of the total needed to race in Formula One in 2020. Red Bull did not retain him beyond 2019, and Helmut Marko released him from his contract early, after three Super Formula rounds, so that he could take the McLaren IndyCar seat.

What is Pato O'Ward's best championship finish?

Second, in 2025. He was third in 2021 and fourth in 2020, 2023 and 2026.

Where is Pato O'Ward from?

Monterrey, in the Mexican state of Nuevo León. His full name is Patricio O'Ward Junco, and Pato is the Spanish diminutive of Patricio.

What did Pato O'Ward win before IndyCar?

The Indy Lights championship in 2018 and the IMSA Prototype Challenge title in 2017. He came up through NACAM Formula 4 in Mexico, French F4, Pro Mazda and Mazda Prototype Lites.

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Pato O'Ward Collection

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References

Sources & Further Reading

Every statistic on this page is drawn from the following records.

  1. Pato O'Ward — driver profile and career statistics · IndyCar (official)
  2. O'Ward sweeps Milwaukee; Palou clinches fifth series title · IndyCar (official)
  3. 2018 Indy Lights · Wikipedia
  4. 2022 Indianapolis 500 · Wikipedia
  5. 2024 Indianapolis 500 · Wikipedia
  6. 2025 IndyCar Series · Wikipedia
  7. 2026 IndyCar Series · Wikipedia
  8. Pato O'Ward · Wikipedia
  9. Pato O'Ward (Q23800002) · Wikidata entity record

How this page is made

Rider profiles are compiled from official series records and cross-checked against independent statistical databases before publication.

Commercial disclosure. This page links to merchandise sold by KozmozInspire. Products are fan-made tributes inspired by motorsport history and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed from the rider, their estate, or any team.

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