Pato O'Ward looking to make history as first Mexican to win Indianapolis 500

Pato O'Ward has come agonizingly close to winning the Indianapolis 500 in his brief-but-successful IndyCar career.

Last year, the Arrow McLaren driver collided with Marcus Ericsson with seven laps to go while the two were fighting for second and third place. The previous year, O'Ward finished second in 2022 behind the Swede as he missed out on victory at The Brickyard.

Despite being unable to win at Indianapolis, the Mexican has been blisteringly fast at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, finishing in the top six three times.

The driver of the No. 5 car eagerly anticipates racing in the Indy 500 once more this month, saying, "I want to enjoy the process because this (event) is so cool. There’s no race like this. There’s no process like this."

“There is so much stuff that we have to do (as drivers) during the month that the best thing you can do for yourself and for your soul is to, like, actually want to do it, and I do," O'Ward continued. "You know, joke around with your team, and if it’s raining, it’s raining; if it’s not, let’s get some running in.”

Regarding importance and prestige, the Indianapolis 500 is the most important race on IndyCar's calendar.

Qualifying for the race is far more dramatic than for any other IndyCar event. It is a two-day format and one car will be bumped out of the 33-car field.

O'Ward is highly unlikely to be involved in Last Chance Qualifying but understands the agony of being bumped; he failed to make the field as a rookie with Carlin in 2019.

While the ultimate speed is critical in qualifying, how the car performs in traffic is much more significant during the 200-lap race.

"Qualifying and the race are completely two different beasts," O'Ward explained, "but the important thing here is (having) a good race car. If you have a good race car, you’re going to move forward, and I know what a good race car is here.”

The 25-year-old is heading into the Indy 500 after a mixed start to 2024, inheriting the victory at St. Pete near the end of April before failing to score a top 10 in the next three races.

A victory for O'Ward at the Indianapolis 500 would etch him into motorsport folklore as the first Mexican winner of the race.

It would also provide a moment of redemption for McLaren after the embarrassment of being bumped with two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso in 2019, the same day O'Ward suffered a similar fate.