O'Ward finally gets a chance to drive an F1 car in native country Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — IndyCar star Pato O'Ward fulfilled a dream Friday when McLaren allowed him to drive Lando Norris' car in front of his home country crowd in the first Formula 1 practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix.

O'Ward wasn't given much leeway to showcase his skills — he was under strict team orders to protect Norris' car in the session. Norris is chasing Max Verstappen for the driver championship with five races remaining.

Asked what directives he was given before the session, O'Ward said his orders were clear.

“Pato, don't shunt the car. Pato, if you try to go too fast, I am going to scream at you, and, we need information. And this information is extremely important to what the weekend is going to look like,” O'Ward said. “So it was very clear that I had to prioritize everything that was needed of me, in terms of gathering information, being consistent. I think they are pretty happy with the job that I did. I certainly am.”

O'Ward ended up 13th on the speed chart without a scratch on Norris' car. He was quicker than F1 regulars Kevin Magnussen of Haas, Pierre Gasly of Alpine, Lance Stroll of Aston Martin and Alex Albon, who had a heavy crash in his Williams early in the session.

George Russell of Mercedes was fastest in the first session but crashed in the second practice. Verstappen had an engine issue that plagued his session. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner initially said Verstappen's engine was fine for Friday's second practice, but Verstappen returned to the garage minutes into the session with more engine problems.

“This noise is very disturbing, this can’t be normal,” he said over his radio.

O'Ward, meanwhile, had hoped to be allowed to open it up a bit at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez but knew McLaren — and Norris — would not allow him to take any risks.

When asked by The Associated Press what O'Ward would be allowed to do with his car, Norris was blunt: “He’s testing my car.”

He had little empathy for O'Ward, a reserve driver for McLaren's F1 team but its star driver in the IndyCar Series. O'Ward, who is from Monterrey, has been desperate to race in Mexico now that his popularity has grown. He was disappointed when NASCAR last month announced it would race in Mexico City in 2025, and O'Ward's vocal displeasure fast-tracked talks that will likely have IndyCar racing here in 2026.

“It’s tough. That’s life. He’s been given the opportunity in the first place, so it’s not just about him," Norris said. “He’s playing a bigger role. He’s not going to be in Formula 1 this year or next year. His role is helping us as a team. That’s his job and he gets a cool experience performing in front of his home crowd.

“We could have picked another track for him to go and do. So I think he should be happy that we picked Mexico,” Norris continued. “I’m happy for him to go and do that. I think it’s a very special thing for him, too. He’ll definitely get laps and be able to push, but he knows the risks and the rewards.”

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing