Pato O'Ward settles IndyCar vs F1 debate after driving McLaren at Abu Dhabi GP
Pato O'Ward declared there is "no comparison" between his usual racing machines and the Formula 1 car he took for a spin at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Mexican IndyCar racer was one of 10 'rookie' drivers who took to the Yas Marina Circuit on Friday for the first practice session of the weekend. He was driving a McLaren while Lando Norris was able to put his feet up.
O'Ward was 15th fastest in what was only his second ever timed session behind the wheel of an F1 car. The first came last year and he was delighted to get the chance to repeat the trick this season.
Although an F1 rookie by definition, O'Ward has far more high-level racing experience than most of his peers he was sharing the track with. He is a four-time race winner in IndyCar having completed 72 races in the American series.
Naturally, he was asked to compare his experiences after the session. And he made it clear that there is a significant performance gap between the two machines.
Sebastian Vettel warns of looming F1 ban and is "very worried about the future"
"They are two very different beasts," he told Sky Sports. "The Formula 1 car, in every area, there is no other car that I feel like comes close to it. The way it brakes, the way it accelerates, the way it changes direction.
The aero that they have, they are such capable cars and you can really tell that they are made to go as fast as is humanly possible within a certain set of rules around a road course. If you put an IndyCar and a Formula 1 car on the same track, for example I think Austin is the best comparison that we've had, and there's 14 seconds [between them].
"It really isn't a comparison from one to the other. They're just very different cars made for different types of circuits. The IndyCar needs to withstand hits at 240mph at the Indy 500 and the Formula 1 car is just a rocket ship on wheels. That's the best way that I can explain it."
His FP1 experience came after McLaren announced O'Ward will be one of the F1 team's reserve drivers for the 2024 season, on top of his IndyCar duties. The 24-year-old recently earned his FIA super license and so the team wasted little time before adding him to their reserve pool.
"Pato had an impressive season in the IndyCar series and has performed well in his driver development tests, so it felt natural to take this next step now he's eligible for an FIA Super License," said team principal Andrea Stella. "With the expansive calendar, it's prudent to ensure we have a wide pool of drivers that we can call upon if required. We look forward to seeing him progress in this new role."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
