Last Updated on April 21 2026, 3:53 pm
Mexican racing star Pato O’Ward has become one of the most recognisable talents outside of Formula 1. However, despite having had multiple opportunities to experience the pinnacle of motorsport, a full-time switch to Formula 1 now appears to be off the table.
The 26-year-old, a standout name in the IndyCar Series, took part in five Formula 1 free practice sessions with McLaren: in Abu Dhabi in 2022, 2023 and 2025, and in Mexico City in 2024 and 2025.
However, rather than fuelling his long-term ambition, these experiences appear to have had the opposite effect. Despite his continued affiliation with McLaren and his obvious talent, O’Ward has become increasingly disillusioned with what Formula 1 represents today.
A nine-time IndyCar race winner and runner-up in the 2025 championship behind Alex Palou, O’Ward remains one of the most competitive drivers outside the F1 grid. However, his priorities have shifted, and not in Formula 1’s favour.
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“The essence of Formula 1 has been lost.”
Speaking candidly to FOX Deportes during the IndyCar heritage race in Long Beach, O’Ward delivered a strikingly blunt assessment of modern Formula 1:
‘Is Formula 1 still a dream for me? Well, it changes more every year,’ he explained. ‘And quite honestly, what Formula 1 has done with the new generation of race cars is a mistake. The truth is, when we look at this sport, it feels artificial.”
This is a damning critique from a driver who once viewed Formula 1 as the ultimate goal. For O’Ward, the appeal of F1 was never about status or financial reward, but about the raw challenge and spectacle of driving the fastest and most demanding machines in motorsport.
‘When I was hungry for Formula 1, fame and money weren’t on my mind,’ he continued. ‘I wanted to be in the premier class because the cars were so powerful — driving those racing cars was truly impressive. But now the essence of Formula 1 has been lost.’
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O’Ward: “I don’t want to play Mario Kart…”
At the heart of O’Ward’s frustration lies the increasing reliance on artificial elements designed to improve the spectacle of racing — tools that, in his view, undermine the purity of competition.
‘As a racer, you don’t want to be in the car thinking, “Oh, just flip this switch and I can easily overtake my opponent”,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to play Mario Kart; I want to race!’
This comment highlights a wider criticism often voiced by drivers and fans: that modern Formula 1 is becoming overly reliant on systems that reduce the importance of driver skill and racecraft.
For O’Ward, this fundamentally changes what it means to compete at the highest level. Rather than being a test of instinct, bravery and precision, he argues that the sport has become increasingly manufactured.
“I have zero interest in being part of a Formula 1 like that,” he added. “I’m much better off in the IndyCar series when it comes to pure motorsport.”
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IndyCar’s appeal: authenticity over spectacle
O’Ward’s stance highlights a growing philosophical divide between Formula 1 and IndyCar. While Formula 1 continues to evolve with complex hybrid systems, aerodynamic dependencies and strategic tools, IndyCar has leaned more heavily into standardisation and driver-focused competition.
For drivers like O’Ward, that difference matters. IndyCar’s relative simplicity emphasises wheel-to-wheel racing, adaptability and consistency across a range of circuits, from street tracks to ovals.
His comments suggest that some top talents may actually be pushed away by Formula 1’s direction rather than drawn in.
In O’Ward’s case, the verdict is clear. What was once a dream has become something else entirely — and it’s no longer something he feels compelled to chase.
NEXT ARTICLE – The obsession behind F1’s rule ‘tweaks’
Formula One claims it has acted swiftly and decisively to change the 2026 rules which have proven so far to be a farce. Firstly, as a matter of safety, F1 and the FIA needed to act to prevent the horrendous closing speeds which have been visible between cars who are deploying electrical boost and others who are harvesting energy.
Last time out in Japan, Haas F1 driver Oliver Bearman was blasting through the right-hander on the approach to Spoon when he came upon the dawdling Alpine of Franco Colapinto who was storing up electrical energy. The result being the Haas F1 driver ended up in the wall and suffered a massive 50g impact. While he was helped away limping, fortunately the British driver suffered no broken bones.
To prevent this, it has been agreed that in ‘non-hard’ accelerating zones, the maximum deployment from the car will be cut from 350kW to 250kW. Where the full amount of power will be available is out of a corner onto a straight, but in the case of Bearman in Suzuka on the entrance to Spoon corner, he would have had just under a third less electrical boost which may have mitigated the incident.
The obsession with absolute speed
The headline number which will disappoint some of the engine manufacturers is that the maximum charge which can be recovered across a single lap is being reduced from 8MJ to 7MJ. This will add around a second of lap time, a matter which F1 appears pretty concerned about for some reason. A far safer and better solution would have been to cut this number by another 1MJ to 6MJ, which would see the drivers run for most of the lap without resorting to strange energy recovery tactics.
Yet despite no TV viewer or most spectators at the circuit being able to detect a two-second-a-lap slower F1 car, F1 stats appear important to the commercial rights holder and the regulator of the sport. At the recent Goodwood event some of the most exciting racing was between Mini’s and Escort 2000’s. It’s not the matter of absolute speed that F1 should obsess about, but the excitement in the racing. That said, the new 7MJ will mean less lift and coast from the drivers and more attacking into the apex of the turns.
One of the most farcical elements of the current set of regulations is the sight of a car hurtling down the straight, only to seem to lose power with hundreds of metres to go. This is not merely due to…CONTINUE READING THIS STORY
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
