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O’Ward primed to aid McLaren’s title tilt — and enjoy the moment — in Mexico FP1

Pato O’Ward is looking forward to a special opportunity for him to run in FP1 on home ground at the Mexico City Grand Prix in the midst of McLaren’s Formula 1 championship battles.

McLaren leads the constructors’ championship by 40 points from Red Bull and 48 from Ferrari, while Lando Norris is 57 points adrift of Max Verstappen in the drivers’ standings. Against that backdrop, O’Ward — an Arrow McLaren racer in IndyCar — will drive during the F1 weekend in Mexico City for the first time when he takes part in the opening practice session, and he says the competitive picture only adds to his anticipation.

“I’m just so excited to be there,” O’Ward told RACER. “I’m excited to enjoy the experience of that grand prix weekend without just being there to walk around — I will actually get to drive the car at least once! So that’s pretty special.

“I haven’t really had the chance to do that in a professional manner in so many years. The stage doesn’t get any bigger than Formula 1 and it’s really a great opportunity for me to be there with the team and obviously help them any way I can to get everything sorted out for Lando and make that as smooth as possible, but also get what I need out of it and really get to enjoy it. That’s my main goal — I want to enjoy that as much as possible.

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“I feel like naturally you would expect it to, but I don’t feel the extra pressure really. I think it’s cool. I actually think it’s the other way round — I think it’s fantastic that I’m going to get to drive the constructors’ championship- leading car. That’s awesome. I’ve never had the chance to do that, so that’s a first!”

O’Ward has been in the UK preparing for his FP1 outing and says he feels more at home in F1 machinery due to the amount of running he now has completed with McLaren.

“I was there for three weeks, I had four sim days, I had TPC testing in Silverstone — that was really enjoyable but I only got a couple of hours in the dry, then it was extremely wet. So still enjoyable but not the same –you can’t lean on the car the same, obviously,” O’Ward said. “But I’m excited for Mexico. I’m excited for what it can bring to me as a professional, and really seeing what it’s going to be all about. The car’s a missile right now, so I’m looking forward to driving that.

“I feel very comfortable. I would say after the Abu Dhabi test last year I got to really lean on the car and it just feels a lot more like home. Mexico is slightly different just because of the altitude and the grip levels and all that stuff, but in a way I think it’s going to be less of a step than what it usually is because of the altitude and the grip. So I think I’m in for some really good fun, and I’m looking forward to showing up well for myself and the team.”

The Mexico City Grand Prix is renowned for its party atmosphere and incredible support for Sergio Perez. O’Ward is not expecting a similar reaction but keen to see the interest he receives.

“I don’t know what to expect, really,” he admitted. “Every year has obviously gotten bigger, I don’t know here that has gotten to. I don’t know where that level is right now. I always gauge it when I go to Mexico. It’s felt like after the Indy 500 this year there’s been a shift in that regard, like there’s been a big step in recognition in a sense.

“More just concentrated in Mexico rather than everywhere else — I’m still kind of a nobody in the F1 paddock, to be honest! People that know about motorsports obviously know when I’m walking around, but all the Netflix growth for sure has no idea who anybody is besides the 20 [F1] drivers. So it will be interesting.

“I’m curious to see the stadium section because every time Checo goes through there I hear everybody just screams, and I can hear it from the box. Obviously I don’t think it will be the same for me when I go through there, but maybe some people will be like ‘Hey!’ I think that will be really cool.”

Story originally appeared on Racer