IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward rips new Detroit Grand Prix: 'I hate this place. It sucks.'
IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward is having a strong season, currently second in the overall standings to Álex Palou after a seventh-place finish in the 2025 Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday, June 1.
But despite gaining ground on Palou, O'Ward had a negative appraisal of his Detroit Grand Prix experience.
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O'Ward was asked about his performance Sunday, and he took a blowtorch to the entire race in Detroit.
"It's been a very frustrating weekend," he said. "You guys know I don't sugarcoat things. I hate this place. It sucks. It's a horrible track."
Detroit's is the shortest among all street courses on the IndyCar calendar, and several drivers have complained about bumpy and narrow conditions since the race returned downtown from Belle Isle in 2023. But no racer has been as candid as O'Ward so far this year.
"I really miss Belle Isle," he said. "You get to really appreciate what an IndyCar can do at Belle Isle, and here you're just Mickey Mousing around the whole time."
Pato O'Ward sings the shirt of a young fan during the NTT IndyCar Series Driver's Autograph Session at the 2024 Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear Free Prix Day inside the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit on Friday, May 31, 2024.
The 2023 and 2024 editions of the Detroit Grand Prix, the first two to return downtown since 1988, had crashes on the opening lap that highlighted the chaos of the track. The 2025 Grand Prix avoided that fate on the first turn but did have a big crash at turn 3 on lap 84 that took Louis Foster and Felix Rosenqvist out of the race.
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Kyle Kirkwood won Sunday's race, and IndyCar announced the race will return to downtown Detroit though 2028, with an option for three more years through 2031.
READ MORE: How the Detroit Grand Prix got from Belle Isle to downtown
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online or in print.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pato O'Ward on Detroit Grand Prix downtown: 'I hate this place'
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