Best in class: Pato O'Ward targeting 2nd-place IndyCar championship finish as his toughest tracks near
Magical wouldn't even begin to describe it. But the Arrow McLaren veteran would be plenty happy to take a win in class — the "drivers not named Alex Palou" class, that is. Such is the life of a championship contender competing against a three-time series champ who's in the midst of one of the most dominant campaigns a unified American open-wheel series has seen in recent memory.
'What's the gap, 129 points? So, Palou's just got to (crash) this weekend and next, and I've got to win both of them, and I might still be 60 or 70 points back,' O'Ward told IndyStar ahead of the Honda Indy on the streets of Toronto, a track and an event that historically marks the Mexican's worst on the calendar. 'Weirder things have happened.'
Though O'Ward's math is a bit off: if he were to win both races (at least 51 points each) and Palou crashed out of both (let's give him a generous 20th place for both, or 10 points each), O'Ward would be staring at just under a 50-point gap with three races to go — the odds of such an occurrence almost makes it moot. For starters, Palou arrives in Toronto this week with an average finish of fourth place in three career starts at the venue.
O'Ward? An average finishing position of 12th, including a pair of finishes outside the top 10 — both on race weekends where he failed to advance out of the first round of qualifying. Last year's 17th-place result distorts this picture a bit. After all, O'Ward was running in sixth late in the race when he slid into the tires on the exit of Turn 1 and sparked a massive pile up that ended his day well outside the top 10. But it's not a stretch to say it's maybe the track where he feels least comfortable and one where he's least confident of producing a result in a pressure-packed situation that could in any way keep him realistically alive in the championship.
And it's why, he said, Arrow McLaren has thrown the proverbial kitchen sink at his car ahead of this weekend.
'We called Rolls-Royce to get some of that amazing suspension they've got on their cars,' O'Ward joked in referencing to racing around what may be the bumpiest street circuit on the calendar. 'We're coming with something completely new, at least on my car, because I feel like if we just arrive with what we've had (before), we're just accepting defeat at that point, so we're just going to be hoping to get better.
'We don't have to be fighting for pole, but just every little bit we can get would be helpful.'
O'Ward finished Friday afternoon's practice seventh fastest on the timing charts. Maybe even more important to keep an eye on heading in Saturday's practice and qualifying, though, is his gap to the fastest cars — one that sits at seven tenths after practice No. 1.
On-track this weekend: What is the start time for the IndyCar race at Ontario Honda Dealers Indy in Toronto?
'Qualifying at street courses has been the challenge this year, but I'm kinda glad we're at one to try and end the year on a good note and help turn it into a good race. We can have a great weekend here, but it's going to take an improvement in all-around pace,' O'Ward said. 'This is a track that I've been to (three times), and (that gap to the front) is always five-tenths, and I don't get closer.
'Even as the track progresses, I keep progressing, but that (gap) stays the same (to the leaders). It's been such a difficulty and such a challenging place, just even to catch a whiff of the Fast 12. You know I'll be giggling if I'm in the Fast Six. That would mean we've found something.'
O'Ward's unlikely road to putting some serious pressure on Palou won't come easy even after heading back to the States, with two more permanent road courses up next, which the young Mexican driver has never scored even a podium in eight combined starts at Laguna Seca and Portland. Palou, on the other hand, has eight podiums in 11 combined starts at the next three tracks, including four wins and just a single result worse than sixth place.
And that's why O'Ward's hopes are realistic with just over a month to go in his 2026 campaign. Still, there's personal history to target, he pointed out.
'Hand him over to the world': How Pato O'Ward became IndyCar's biggest star
'I've never been second in the championship. I've always been fighting for it, but at the end of the year, there's always been things that get us out of the running, so it would be great to get that off the list,' he said, pointing to a third place championship finish (2021), a pair of fourth place runs (2020 and 2023), a fifth place finish (2024) and seventh (2022).
'So I've basically crossed all of them off except for (first or second), and second is the first step. I would've loved to be first, and we still don't know what it's going to be, but we're going to strive to keep building on this.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
20 minutes ago
- USA Today
NBA sets schedule for 2025-26 games in Europe, unveils plans for 2027, 2028
The NBA on Wednesday announced its regular-season European schedule for the 2025-26 season and unveiled plans to play regular-season season games in Paris, Berlin and Manchester in 2027 and 2028. The Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic will play two games in Europe this season – in Berlin on Jan. 15, and in London on Jan. 18. "Announcing the next three season's regular-season games in Europe reflects the incredible momentum and appetite for NBA basketball in France, Germany, the UK and across the region," NBA managing director of Europe and Middle East George Aivazoglou said in a news release. "We look forward to welcoming the Grizzlies and the Magic to Berlin and London and to engaging fans, players and the local communities through the games and the surrounding events." The Magic's Franz and Mo Wagner are from Germany, and the Berlin game will the NBA's first regular-season game in the country. "To have the Orlando Magic and the NBA play a regular-season game in our hometown of Berlin means everything to us," the Wagner brothers said in a joint statement. "Growing up here, we dreamed of moments like this. It's a huge honor to represent Berlin and Germany and show how much the city and country love basketball. We hope we can inspire kids the way we were inspired watching games from afar." Europe, get ready! ✈️🌍The NBA will host SIX regular-season games in Europe over the next three years, with games to come in Berlin and London (2026), Manchester and Paris (2027) and Berlin and Paris (2028).🗞️ The NBA's push into the European market has been steady and unsurprising. As the league considers expansion of its North American-based league, it is also exploring the creation a new league based in Europe – with the idea of adding already existing franchises and creating franchises in underserved markets. "Just as the same as in American cities, we think there's an opportunity to serve fans in Europe," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said at the NBA Finals. "No knock on European basketball, because most of those international MVPs I just talked about are coming from Europe. There's really high-level basketball being played there. But we think there is an opportunity to better serve fans there. I view that as a form of expansion as well, and that's something we're also thinking hard about."
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Leon Marchand crushes 200m IM world record held by Ryan Lochte
Leon Marchand crushed the world record in the 200m individual medley in the semifinals of the World Swimming Championships. Marchand, the Frenchman who won four individual golds at the 2024 Paris Olympics, clocked 1 minutes, 52.69 seconds in Singapore. That erased the world record of 1:54.00 set by American Ryan Lochte at the 2011 Worlds. Marchand previously broke Michael Phelps' 400m IM world record at the 2023 Worlds. That was Phelps' last remaining individual world record. Marchand swims in the 200m IM final at worlds on Thursday. The session starts at 7 a.m. ET, live on Peacock.
The Drive
an hour ago
- The Drive
2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V First Drive Review: Succeeding Where Mercedes Failed
The latest car news, reviews, and features. My head physically hurt from the pressure as the Cadillac Lyriq-V ripped off the line for a 0-60 mph sprint. Then the party trick, of which I performed for an hour until Team Cadillac said 'time's up,' quickly became normalized and the pain went away. Also, I was quicker than Cadillac advertises its latest V to be. The pain went away, but it was real at first. Despite being so quick it can be painful the interior coddles occupants in leather, soft touch everything, metal-feeling chrome bits, and an overall sense of luxury most people probably figured Cadillac forgot how to put into production. Even better, it's all hidden inside a gorgeous wrapper that isn't overwrought with a bunch of tacked-on carbon fiber doodads. This is all the antithesis of a modern AMG and so American, it's hard not to be proud that Cadillac seems to be back. The 2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V is the first electric vehicle to wear a V-Series badge, it's the quickest production Cadillac in history, and is an understated package with few shortcomings, none of which are even V-specific. Far from a new car, the Cadillac Lyriq-V is a quicker, more powerful, more expensive performance variant of the Lyriq we've all come to know, and really like, over the last few years. It also brings forth a few enhancements to the rest of the Lyriq lineup for 2026. It now sits atop of the Lyriq lineup and might just be the stealth executive luxury EV to buy. Joel Feder This thing is a sleeper, and I'm here for it in a way that AMG seems to have either forgotten or abandoned in its quest for a younger audience. A quick glance at the Lyriq won't reveal this is the V model. It'll take a deeper look, or a Cadillac enthusiast (is this a thing?) to quickly note this isn't a standard Lyriq. The gorgeous dash-to-axle ratio and short rear end all paired with wicked LED lighting carries over. The V models get specific front and rear lower fascias, revised 22-inch wheels, sill and rear tailgate badging, a standard black roof (which can be optioned on other Lyriqs), 0.62-inch lower ride height (surely you noticed). For buyers desiring more flair there's the optional carbon fiber front and rear splitter/diffuser paired with side sill extensions for $5,700. It'll be hard to know this thing is a V while moving down the road at speed. Joel Feder Inside it's standard Lyriq fare, which is great. That translates to a 33-inch LED display augmented by buttons, knobs, and my personal favorite, toggles. It's a clean design with comfortable, supportive seats. The same packaging compromises present in every Lyriq, and most Ultium-based EVs, still exist including a hilariously deep dashboard and rear seats that sit a smidge too high. But I would happily road trip in this thing. There's no ridiculous carbon fiber bits, and the team didn't go nuts with the touchscreen's software. There's some red background bits on the screen and a new V mode button on the steering wheel and in the drive mode selector page. That's it, and that's just fine. Though, for the money Cadillac really should have wrapped the dashboard and door uppers in leather with stitching, but now there's room for improvement. Joel Feder The real changes for the V come underneath the sheet metal. The same 102-kWh battery pack that's in every other Lyriq feeds upgraded motors on each axle (one per) and upgraded inverters for a total output of 615 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque in Velocity Max mode. The battery pack itself isn't changed from other Lyriqs, but because the V was coming every Lyriq's battery cooling system was upgraded with new plumbing of the valves to increase flow in the name of literal chill. The battery's discharge current limit has been increased 25% (via software), which is why the enhanced cooling was needed. Each drive mode has been programmed to call up the cooling system to prep and ensure optimized temps by splitting the system's output between the battery and climate control. The drive units themselves feature new final drive ratios with the front unit moving from 9.85 to 11.59 and the rear going from 10.5 to 11.6. Cadillac also increased the rear drive unit's half shaft diameter from 41mm to 44mm. Unlike the 2026 Rivian R1T Quad, Cadillac upgraded the Lyriq-V's brakes to handle the increased power with 6-piston Brembo calipers grabbing 15.3-inch front discs and carry-over single-piston 13.6-inch rotors in the rear. Joel Feder For better control (and less roll) the V model gets Sachs adaptive dampers, making it the only Lyriq to not ride on passive dampers. Cadillac engineer Alex Doss told The Drive the team went with adaptive dampers instead of magnetic ride control because EVs are heavy and the adaptive dampers with continuous damping control with a valve-based system have a larger spread for rebound control, which is really needed on a vehicle of this weight—5,980 pounds, to be exact. The rest of the suspension has been upgraded to deal with the increased forces that comes with more power. This ranges from the rear roll bar being 533% stiffer (that's not a typo) to the front top mount being 140% stiffer and the #3 cradle mount being 677% stiffer. Cadillac's engineers also gave the Lyriq-V a quicker steering ratio moving from 18.44:1 to 15.81:1. It's a minor speed increase that's not noticed from behind the wheel, but also feels natural. Velocity Max and Competition Modes have come along for the ride, with the former uncorking the powertrain and the latter loosening the reins on stability control and turning off traction control. Launch Control is also part of the package to enable the 3.3-second 0-60 mph sprint, according to Cadillac. Spoiler: It's quicker than that. Joel Feder Cadillac let me loose in a closed-off parking lot to rip 0-60 mph runs for an hour straight. Cadillac said the Lyriq-V does the deed in 3.3 seconds, but I did it in 3.2 immediately with Launch Control according to the onboard time, which also measures 0-100 mph and a 1/4 mile time. Enabling Launch control is easy. Simply tap the V button on the steering wheel, push the brake pedal to the floor, push the accelerator to the floor, let off the brake, hold onto that steering wheel because things now move quickly. Another journalist somehow hit 3.0 seconds flat for the 0-60 mph sprint. Naturally I slid behind the wheel and continued to launch off the line until I matched his number. Had time not run out I would've kept going until the car forced me to stop or I hit 2.9 seconds. But after an hour the brakes, which never seemed to change in feel or pedal travel, started to smoke when I got out of the car. The Lyriq-V tested was running the standard summer square setup of Continental Premier Contact 275/40R22 tires paired with the available $100 performance low-metallic brake pads. Cadillac said the Lyriq-V's top speed clocks in at 130 mph, but I didn't test the claim. Around an autocross course Cadillac setup for us in a large parking lot I was able to easily swing the rear end out with Competition Mode enabled, and even overcooked it too much in one turn resulting in smokey donuts. I'll admit, I didn't let off the throttle, rather I buried it. Team Cadillac's facial expressions were worth it. Sorry, not sorry. Joel Feder On public roads with long, fast sweepers I preferred the steering in Tour mode rather than Sport, as extra heft for the sake of being heavy is weird. The suspension difference between Sport and Tour is minor, but it's a little stiffer with broken pavement making its way through into the seat bottom a bit more in the former. But it's the throttle mapping between Tour and Sport that's most noticeable. Sport mode for the throttle uncorks initial tip-in and the power comes on much quicker than in Tour mode. While Sport mode is fun on backroad sweepers, it's simply too much around town, especially going from stoplight to stoplight. Every Lyriq but the base model now features two exterior speakers beyond the federally-mandated pedestrian warning system. These speakers, one in the front and one in the rear, can play synthetic noise to give the Lyriq… emotion? The V gets its own sound naturally dubbed V. None of the sounds mimic a gas engine, rather it falls somewhere between a luxurious hum in Tour mode to a space-like thruster in Sport and V modes. From Tour, Sport, and V each mode gets progressively louder. There's also Stealth, which just shuts down the speakers and lets the Lyriq be silent. Our pre-production car's software wasn't what customers will experience and it's hard to comment or judge what I heard, but it was futuristic. We'll see what the production software sounds like. Part of me felt it sounded futuristic, while part of me just kept thinking, 'this is stupid, it's electric, why is it making noises.' Your opinion will vary, and apparently so too will what the production Lyriq-V sounds like. Joel Feder The Lyriq-V is the first electric Cadillac to wear a V badge, but the word Blackwing is nowhere to be found. Alex Doss, lead development engineer for the Lyriq-V, told The Drive the Blackwing is a totally different echelon and type of performance with a track focus. The Lyriq-V seems to preview Cadillac's future while doing what it can with today's packaging, technology, and budget constraints. The Escalade is the range topper, and prints money for Cadillac, but nothing the automaker sells today is this quick, and certainly nothing combines this kind of speed and smoothness in terms of power delivery. Mercedes has already realized it failed at its first attempt with luxury EVs in America and has hit pause on the EQs. Meanwhile, Cadillac Global Vice President John Roth told The Drive during a business update earlier in the month that the automaker intends to be the luxury EV leader by 2030. So far, Cadillac seems to be on the path to be just that. Despite disappearing incentives Cadillac still sees EVs as critical. Joel Feder Cadillac estimates the Lyriq-V will have an EPA-rated range of 285 miles, which is a hit of anywhere from 41 to 34 miles compared to other Lyriqs. In 50.8 miles of mixed suburban, city, and highway driving the Lyriq-V managed 2.4 mi/kWh, which would translate to 245 miles of range. You can probably tell that I didn't baby it. When the 2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V arrives in the coming weeks it will cost $80,090 including a $1,495 destination charge. The 'base' V is the one I'd recommend as it's well equipped with everything from a 23-speaker AKG sound system and augmented reality heads-up display to GM's class-leading Level 2 hands-free driver-assist system known as Super Cruise. Spending up another $5,200 for the V Premium adds Nappa leather and a panoramic sunroof (instead of a fixed glass roof) and a 19.2-kw onboard charging system. We don't yet know the exact price spread of the V over other Lyriq's as 2026 pricing isn't released for the standard lineup yet, but a 2025 Lyriq costs $58,595 in base form, and a top-tier Sport 3 AWD model costs $76,905. A fair guesstimate of a few grand premium is about where the V seems to check in at, and for that money it seems worth it for the extra power and standard features if leveling up to more premium Lyriqs. That said, if the extra power isn't desired the standard Lyriq is a darn nice vehicle that still does 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds in dual-motor AWD form. The Lyriq-V checks up to $5,895 more than Audi SQ6 E-Tron, but it's also significantly quicker and better looking inside and out. It's also $30,660 less expensive, and better looking, than the Mercedes-Benz AMG EQE SUV, which has been shelved due to poor sales. With extremely limited seat time, of which I need more at a later date, the Lyriq-V feels like the complete sleeper package pairing luxury and a gorgeous design with speed in a way AMG's failed to do so far. The team in Affalterbach should be taking notes on this one because this is a heck of a daily driver, regardless of what's powering it. 2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V Specs Base Price (V as tested): $80,090 ($87,610) Powertrain: dual-motor | single-speed automatic | all-wheel drive Horsepower: 615 Torque: 650 lb-ft Seating Capacity: 5 Curb Weight: 5,980 pounds Towing Capacity: 3,500 pounds Cargo Volume: 28 cubic feet behind second row | 60.8 cubic feet behind first row Ground Clearance: 6.1 inches 0-60 mph: 3.3 seconds Top Speed: 130 mph EPA-Rated Range: 285 miles Score: 8.5/10 Cadillac's created a sleeper performance SUV that doubles as a gorgeous daily driver.
