McLaren Invasion: Pato O'Ward at the 110th Indy 500
If you watch the 2026 Indianapolis 500 with one driver in mind, it should probably be Pato O'Ward.
The Mexican driver has finished second twice and third once in his last four trips to IMS. He's led the race on the final lap and lost it. He's been spun out one mistake away from victory. He's been promoted onto a podium because somebody else got disqualified. He has done everything possible at the Indianapolis 500 except win it, and at 26 years old, with the most wins of any driver in Arrow McLaren history, he's running out of patience.
The 110th Running on Sunday, May 24 might finally be his day. It also might be the year McLaren as a global racing brand makes its biggest statement at IMS in half a century.
Pato's near-misses at Indy
Pato O'Ward has six Indy 500 starts under his belt. The list reads like a series of small heartbreaks.
2020: Sixth place in his first start, won Rookie of the Year. Solid debut.
2022: Second place. Briefly nosed ahead of Marcus Ericsson on the final lap before Ericsson re-passed him on the way to victory.
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2023: Crashed with eight laps remaining while attempting to pass defending winner Ericsson.
2024: Second place again. Looked poised to take the win late before Josef Newgarden moved past in the closing laps.
2025: Finished fourth on the road, then was promoted to third when Ericsson was disqualified for failing post-race technical inspection. Alex Palou won. David Malukas was second.
He's been on the podium three times. He's been within a single pass of victory twice. He told Fox Sports earlier this year, "I know how to position myself to win this. And I'm going to get it."
Indianapolis hasn't given him many gimmes. The race rewards patience and luck in equal measure, and Pato has had plenty of one and very little of the other.
Pato O'Ward was born in Monterrey, Mexico in 1999. He started karting at six. He raced in France's F4 series at 14 before returning to the United States to climb the Road to Indy ladder. He's currently the only Mexican driver in the NTT IndyCar Series, and that distinction has built him one of the most passionate fan bases in motorsport.
When Pato O'Ward shows up at a race, his fans show up too. The grandstands fill with Mexican flags. Drivers from Latin America in American open-wheel racing have always carried a different kind of weight, and Pato is the most successful of his generation.
He now lives in Indianapolis. The city, and Indiana more broadly, has become home base for a driver whose family is in Mexico, whose career started in Texas, and whose secondary racing job is in England with the McLaren Formula 1 team.
McLaren's Indianapolis 500 history
McLaren Racing has a long, complicated history with the Indianapolis 500.
The team's first era of Indy success came in the 1970s. McLaren chassis won the Indy 500 in 1972 (driver Mark Donohue, in a Penske-entered McLaren M16B), 1974 (Johnny Rutherford), and 1976 (Rutherford again). Those are the three Indy 500 wins on McLaren's books, all from when the team was a chassis constructor competing against Penske and others.
Then McLaren walked away from American open-wheel racing for decades.
The team returned in 2017 when Fernando Alonso, midway through his McLaren F1 career, decided to attempt the Indy 500 in a joint entry with Andretti Autosport. Alonso led 27 laps before an engine failure ended his day. He came back in 2019 with a McLaren-only effort and famously failed to qualify, getting bumped out of the field on Bump Day.
The current Arrow McLaren program was built on the foundation of Sam Schmidt Motorsports, which Schmidt founded in 2001. McLaren took a majority stake in 2021 and full ownership before the 2025 season. The team's headquarters opened a new $30 million, 86,000-square-foot facility in 2026, three times the size of the previous building. The investment level is real, and the goal is winning at IMS.
For the 110th Running, Arrow McLaren is fielding four cars at the Indianapolis 500.
No. 5: Pato O'Ward. Six-year veteran with the team, runner-up in the 2025 championship. Career-best season heading into the race.
No. 6: Nolan Siegel. 21-year-old American from Palo Alto, California, in his second full IndyCar season. Talented, young, with more pressure than usual heading into 2026 as the contract clock ticks. Le Mans LMP2 class winner in 2024 with United Autosports.
No. 7: Christian Lundgaard. Danish driver in his second year with Arrow McLaren after being acquired from Rahal Letterman Lanigan. Finished fifth in the 2025 championship in his first year with the team and earned six podiums.
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No. 31: Ryan Hunter-Reay. The 2014 Indy 500 winner returns in a one-off Indy entry with PrizePicks branding. The 45-year-old American has 18 IndyCar wins on his resume and is one of the most experienced 500 specialists in the field. He missed the race in 2025 and is back to chase a second Borg-Warner.
Four cars. Four different stories. One team that has spent the last five years building toward a moment exactly like this one.
The McLaren Formula 1 connection
The bigger picture: McLaren is one of the dominant forces in Formula 1 right now. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have spent the last several seasons trading race wins around the world. Pato O'Ward is the McLaren F1 reserve driver, which means he's tested the F1 car multiple times in private sessions and has been on call to step in if either Norris or Piastri couldn't race.
The two operations are connected. The same global racing brand that runs the F1 program operates the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team. The same papaya orange livery shows up at Monaco and Indianapolis. The same Pato O'Ward who tries to win Indy is the F1 backup if either of McLaren's stars can't take the start.
It is the most integrated F1-IndyCar relationship in the modern era of either series, and it makes the Indy 500 a stage McLaren cares about for reasons that go far beyond a single race.
What needs to go right for Pato in 2026
A few specific things have to break right for Pato to finally win his Indy 500.
Qualifying position. O'Ward typically qualifies inside the top 10. Starting near the front means clean air, fewer restart risks, and direct fuel-efficiency work without traffic to worry about.
Late-race tire strategy. Pato's near-misses have often come down to the final stint. Whether it's tire degradation, fuel save, or push-to-pass timing, the last 30 laps decide his race more than the first 170.
No mechanical issues. The 2025 Portland race ended his championship hopes when an electrical malfunction parked him early. The Honda and Chevy hybrid units are reliable, but not perfect, and a single failure on race day at IMS ends 500 miles of work.
Luck. The Indy 500 has always had a luck component. Caution timing, debris, weather. Pato has joked publicly that he's owed some at this point.
For deeper context on the Indianapolis 500's history of close calls and "should-have-won" stories, our Andretti curse piece covers the most famous case study.
Closing
Pato O'Ward might win the 110th Indianapolis 500. He might finish second again. He might get spun out on lap 174.
What's certain is that Arrow McLaren will be on track with four cars and a team built to compete for the win. McLaren as a brand has more invested in IMS than at any point since the 1970s. Pato has more experience and more confidence than at any previous Indy 500. The pieces are there.
The green flag falls Sunday, May 24 at 12:45 PM ET. Subscribe to our newsletter for the rest of our 2026 Indy 500 coverage, including our race-day predictions and final preview before the green flag.
Jarred Porter is a content creator and SEO specialist for Get Indiana, helping Hoosiers discover the best places to eat, explore, and experience across the state.
