O’Ward disappointed by F1: “It’s not Mario Kart, it’s an artificial spectacle”

Ruined dream On more than one occasion, starting with the five FP1s in which he took part with McLaren from 2022 to last season, Pato O’Ward has indicated his great dream, that of being able to make the big leap into Formula 1 by leaving IndyCar, where he contests the American championship at the wheel of the Arrow McLaren team. A desire which, however, seems almost completely lost for the reserve driver of the Woking team. The new cars For the 26-year-old Mexican the reasons are clear, explained in detail in an interview given to FOX Deportes. He too, like other drivers of the caliber of four-time world champion Max Verstappen, was in fact very critical of the current Formula 1 and the new technical regulations introduced this season: “Every year it has changed more and more, honestly – he commented – what the series did was a mistake. The truth is that looking at the new cars, they seem artificial. The hunger that drove me to get to Formula 1 was not for fame or money, but because the cars were something impressive.” ‘Mario Kart’ Single Seater therefore rejected by the IndyCar driver, in particular with regards to battery management and overtaking methods, with techniques not at all appreciated by the Mexican: “You certainly can’t press a switch and say: ‘Oh, I press it to overtake him artificially’. It’s not Mario Kart; here we are racing. Honestly, I have no desire to be part of that type of game.” The new regulations meant that O’Ward increasingly left Formula 1, preferring the decision when braking and the determination in the high-speed corners typical of IndyCar: “I believe that at this moment, today, this is the best series for a driver who wants to race: here, in IndyCar – he concluded – Formula 1 at the moment is an artificial spectacle and, honestly, it doesn’t interest me in the slightest; it doesn’t capture my attention.”