
McLaren Driver Addresses Rumored Cadillac F1 Move
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
McLaren driver Pato O'Ward spoke about his racing future amid several rumors regarding a move to the new Cadillac F1 team.
O'Ward is one of the talented drivers in IndyCar, fighting for the title and racing at a high level.
His performances have been good enough to get the Formula 1 paddock talking about the Mexican driver.
O'Ward currently drives for Arrow McLaren, which is under the same McLaren Racing organisation as the McLaren F1 team. He has served as a test and reserve driver for the F1 team.
Pato O'Ward of Mexico and McLaren prepares to drive in the garage during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 25, 2024 in Mexico City, Mexico.
Pato O'Ward of Mexico and McLaren prepares to drive in the garage during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 25, 2024 in Mexico City, Mexico.
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
Given all the speculation regarding the Cadillac race seats, O'Ward was asked by ESPN Mexico about the possibility of landing a spot with the team.
"That one was pure smoke... pure social media," he told ESPN.
"I think that rumor of Cadillac, of me going to Cadillac, was like the rumour of Fernando Alonso hanging out with Taylor Swift."
The Alonso-Swift rumors were nothing other than pure speculation from fans on social media with no evidence of anything tangible, which means O'Ward won't be driving for Cadillac next season.
O'Ward has done a Free Practice 1 outing each of the last three seasons with McLaren in Formula 1. He made two appearances in Abu Dhabi and one in Mexico last season.
Recently, McLaren announced that O'Ward will participate in another FP1 session at Mexico this season.
Before the 2024 Indy 500, O'Ward revealed his long-term racing plan.
"IndyCar is my home, it has been my home, and it feels like home. But just like IndyCar felt a bit alien five years ago, that's what Formula One is to me now," O'Ward said, according to The Athletic.
"I feel like I have a very special opportunity. I have an opportunity to win an Indy 500, to win an IndyCar championship.
"And then maybe the doors open to go to Formula One, and I have a shot at maybe possibly winning a world championship, or just being in Formula One and then growing there.
"That's all part of the process. But I feel like I'm in a very special position that I feel like a lot of people would kill to be in, and I want to take advantage of it."
Despite the move not materializing, he remains secure in his role with Arrow McLaren. He currently sits in second place with 437 points this season for McLaren and two race wins to his name.
The Mexican driver captured a shocking win in Toronto, Canada, which cuts rival Alex Palou's lead down to 30 points with plenty of driving left on the track.
What were the rumors about Fernando Alonso and Taylor Swift?
Last season, tabloid rumors circulated about Spanish driver Fernando Alonso potentially being in a relationship with Swift. However, there was no confirmation from either party.
Swift proceeded to begin dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
For more F1 news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
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Pato O'Ward Still Fast, Leads First Practice at Laguna Seca
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Devlin DeFrancesco, Rossi, Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden each had off-track excursions during the session. · Pato O'Ward carried his momentum into Monterey by leading the opening practice session. Championship points leader Alex Palou was fourth in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. The two have gone head-to-head on natural road courses this season, finishing 1-2 with Palou beating O'Ward on two separate occasions. continued this momentum by leading the opening practice session. · Palou and Colton Herta have combined to win four of the last five Laguna Seca races. Herta was second fastest in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda for Andretti Global. He finished runner-up to Palou last year. RLL Poised for Laguna Seca Breakout Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing believes it's poised for a breakout. Maybe that comes in this weekend's 95-lap race. Team owner Bobby Rahal knows the 2.238-mile circuit well – he is the all-time winningest driver at Laguna Seca with four victories(1984, 1985, 1986, 1987) and also earned his first major race win at the track in the 1979 Can-Am Series. His son, Graham Rahal (No. 15 WWEX Group Honda) is one of only six drivers -- Palou, Colton Herta, Christian Lundgaard, Scott McLaughlin, andKyle Kirkwood -- to reach the Firestone Fast Six at least four times this season, with all of Rahal's appearances coming in the last five races. He finished fourth at the Monterey track in 2021 and enters off a seventh-place finish last week in Toronto. Rahal's teammate Louis Foster (No. 45 Droplight Honda) has made it to the final round three times, while DeFrancesco (No. 30 Mi-Jack Honda) has done so once. DeFranceso crashed early in the session but remains confident about his prospects for the rest of the weekend. He noted the car felt strong before the incident and expects to be competitive on Saturday. Foster, who was ninth fastest on Friday, is also the only rookie to advance to the Firestone Fast Six this season, highlighted by his maiden NTT P1 Award at Road America, a session where Rahal also made the final round and qualified fifth. The British driver has raced at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca four times in INDY NXT by Firestone, winning both races in 2024 from pole position. McLaren Moves Into Andretti Global's Former Shop Arrow McLaren took ownership this week of its future NTT INDYCAR SERIES headquarters and has begun renovations on the facility located on the west side of Indianapolis. The project will nearly triple the size of the team's current Indianapolis based race shop. The organization purchased Andretti Global's former facility and is expanding it from 74,000 square feet to 86,000 square feet. In comparison, Arrow McLaren's current shop operates out of a 33,000-square-foot space. The team plans to move into the new facility in January, ahead of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. JM Bullion Expands Kirkwood, Andretti Global Partnership JM Bullion joined Andretti Global as a sponsor on Kyle Kirkwood's No. 27 Honda for last weekend's Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, where Kirkwood started and finished in sixth place. This week, Andretti Global announced that JM Bullion will continue as a sponsor for this weekend's race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, as well as the Grand Prix of Portland on August 10. Kirkwood was seventh-fastest on Friday. Odds and Ends · The series returns to the track Saturday for practice at 11:30 a.m. ET and NTT P1 Award qualifying at 2:30 p.m. ET. Both air on FS1, FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio Network. · Saturday holds significant importance, as 23 of the 27 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Laguna Seca have been won from a top-three starting position. Since the series returned in 2019 after a 15-year hiatus (2005–2018), the winning drivers have started from first, first, 11th, 11th, and first on the grid, respectively. · Palou was third quickest in both pre-qualifying practice sessions last year. He'd go on to claim pole position and convert that into the race win. Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda) was third on Friday. He has four top-seven finishes on natural road courses in 2025 and seven top-10 finishes in his last nine races overall. · Arrow McLaren driver Christian Lundgaard and Andretti INDY NXT Team Principal, Rob Edwards, join FOX Sports INDY NXT by Firestone coverage this weekend. Lundgaard is the analyst for Saturday's 35-lap race and Edwards for Sunday. recommended Item 1 of 1