Pato O'Ward, Arrow McLaren score strategic win in Indy Toronto
Just minutes into Sunday's race, his No. 5 Arrow McLaren team found an answer.
With McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown in attendance, O'Ward used timely pit stops and supplied the necessary speed when it counted to claim Sunday's Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto. The result was the Mexican star's second win on the year, coming in successive weeks after he claimed the opening leg of the Iowa Speedway doubleheader.
Patricio O'ward, Arrow McLaren
Any hopes of sweeping that Iowa weekend were undone by an untimely yellow after a pit stop in the closing stretch. But seven days later, O'Ward timed his pit road trips just right.
'I can't say I saw this one coming today,' O'Ward admitted. 'But I was feeling so good on the prime tire all weekend. We were just struggling a bit to get the alternate to work in qualifying. … But I knew I had a great car under me to race with and the guys nailed it on the strategy.'
As the race unfolded
O'Ward was one of four drivers to pit in the opening laps of the race, getting off the rapidly-degrading alternate tires and switching onto primaries for the remainder of the race. Moments later, one of those drivers that stopped — Scott McLaughlin — lost a wheel and crashed out of the race, bringing out a caution.
That placed O'Ward on the winning strategy, and another caution for Alexander Rossi just after he stopped a second time on lap 29 put him in prime position. He marched forward over the ensuing third stint to slot second in the tire tracks of Rinus VeeKay, who was on a two-stop strategy. When Veekay made his last stop at the end of lap 57, O'Ward stayed out an extra lap on an overcut and emerged with the lead.
From there, it was smooth sailing. The 26-year-old cruised off to a comfortable win, albeit one that came under caution as Nolan Siegel and Felix Rosenqvist crashed with three laps remaining.
The rest of the podium went the way of the two drivers on a two-stop strategy. Veekay followed in second, scoring his best result of the year for Dale Coyne Racing. Chip Ganassi Racing's Kyffin Simpson followed in third to secure his first IndyCar podium.
Other notable incidents
Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing
Polesitter Colton Herta settled for fourth at race's end, his day undone by the varying strategies. Andretti Global teammates Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood followed in fifth and sixth. Kirkwood had hoped to contend for a third-consecutive street circuit win, but spend the bulk of Sunday's race on a recovery drive after he was spun from behind on pit road by Marcus Armstrong during his second stop.Graham Rahal, Callum Ilott, David Malukas and Scott Dixon wrapped up the top-10. Dixon, Malukas and championship frontrunner Alex Palou had started the race on primaries, planning an alternative strategy.
But the myriad cautions doomed the effort. Palou settled for 12th at race's end, a rare strategy blemish on a near-perfect season.
Also read:
Santino Ferrucci out of Toronto IndyCar race after morning warmup crash: video
As has been the theme of the summer stretch, cautions and strategy defined Sunday's race. The first yellow flew after just two laps, when Scott McLaughlin pitted for primary tires only to loose a wheel on his out lap.
A second caution followed on lap 21, when Christian Rasmussen got the worst of contact with Will Power and crashed out of the race. Additional yellows flew for Alexander Rossi and when Jacob Abel wound up atop Josef Newgarden's No. 2 Chevrolet after a restart stack-up, leaving the bulk of the race's opening half to run under caution.
An untimely caution in the second half could have shaken things up again. But by the time the final yellow flew coming to two to go, the race had been decided.
The IndyCar field will return to action on July 27 for the Java House Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Just four races remain in the 2025 IndyCar season.
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