In IndyCar’s hybrid era, Pato O’Ward from Arrow McLaren becomes the inaugural driver to secure a victory.
McLaren’s British Grand Prix may not have gone to plan, but over in the IndyCar Series, Pato O’Ward brought the team its first on-track victory of the year at Mid-Ohio — and in arguably the most historic event of the season after the Indianapolis 500.
The Mid-Ohio event is the first race weekend with IndyCar’s totally new hybrid engines, and it’s safe to say all bets were on the Honda-engined team of Chip Ganassi Racing when it came to predicting victory. Instead, a clean final pit stop put the race directly into Pato O’Ward’s hands.
An electrifying debut at Mid-Ohio
In a departure from the norm, IndyCar’s 2024 event at Mid-Ohio showcased a unique feature. For the very first time, every single car participating in the race was powered by a hybrid engine, marking a significant milestone in the series’ history.
IndyCar had to postpone the implementation of its promised hybrid power units for several years due to the prolonged recovery period caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heading into the race, one might naturally assume that Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Alex Palou and Scott Dixon would assert their dominance, given their exceptional skills in fuel conservation and adaptability to race strategy. However, during the formation lap, Palou’s vehicle encountered two instances of stalling.
Despite being several laps down, Dixon’s No. 9 team managed to make necessary repairs and successfully returned the car to the track.
Regarding Palou, the Spanish racer swiftly established a commanding lead from the pole position, quickly accumulating a five-second advantage over the other competitors and appearing invincible.
Nevertheless, O’Ward gradually narrowed the distance and successfully overtook Palou in the pit lane during the final moments of the race.
Despite Palou’s efforts to close the distance between himself and the leader, he failed to pose a significant threat for the top position. In fact, in his pursuit to narrow the gap, he encountered multiple instances of losing control and came close to losing complete command.
“After the race, Palou expressed his admiration to Charlie Kimball, a former racer and current NBC pit road analyst, stating that both the car and the 10 crew were absolutely phenomenal.”
We struggled to maintain the durability of the alternate tires. Pato began to close in on us, leaving us helpless as my tires were completely worn out.
“Afterward, we experienced a sluggish halt as I struggled to shift into first gear. It’s possible that I was attempting to accelerate too quickly, most likely due to my own mistake.”
It was a great race, we had a lot of fun out there. It’s just unfortunate that we couldn’t secure the victory for the 10 car. Nonetheless, it was a solid day overall.
Regarding Pato O’Ward, it’s safe to say that he was extremely pleased with the effort.
“That was a hard-fought race,” O’Ward told Georgia Henneberry after the race.
On the alternate tires, our performance was extremely strong. Palou, on the other hand, demonstrated exceptional strength while using the primary tires.
“All I had to do was keep my distance in the initial period, then enter the pits to switch to the alternates and attempt to narrow the gap.”
The team did an outstanding job. It has been quite some time.
“We may have ‘won’ St. Pete, but this victory feels truly deserving, and we can proudly say that we earned it over the weekend.”
Regarding its all-new hybrids, IndyCar itself released a statement after the race.
According to the statement, the new IndyCar hybrid power unit’s performance at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was significant and extremely positive.
The pride and excitement generated by this milestone in the IndyCar paddock is shared by all stakeholders. It represents a truly unique collaboration between Chevrolet and Honda, resulting from countless hours of engineering, preparation, testing, and execution.
The hybrid system is set to make its oval debut at Iowa next weekend.
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O’Ward’s first on-track win of 2024
If you look at the IndyCar standings, you will notice that Pato O’Ward theoretically emerged as the winner of the 2024 IndyCar season opener at St. Pete. However, despite this, the Mexican racer refers to his victory at Mid-Ohio as his first win of the year.
The response is a subject of controversy. Following the Long Beach Grand Prix, it was discovered that Team Penske’s drivers, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin, had engaged in the unauthorized use of push-to-pass during restarts. Push-to-pass provides drivers with a temporary power surge during specific parts of a race.
Despite the system being intended for disabling during restarts, Team Penske had enabled it, allowing Newgarden to take advantage of it and secure a victory in the St. Pete race. Consequently, IndyCar revoked Newgarden’s win and instead bestowed it upon O’Ward.
The Arrow McLaren racer, on the other hand, did not achieve that victory until six weeks later, during which he had already mentally moved on. Consequently, his triumph at Mid-Ohio will be recognized as his inaugural on-track win of the season – a moment he can finally commemorate and enjoy.
With 329 points, Alex Palou continues to hold the top spot in the IndyCar championship, maintaining a 38-point lead over his closest competitor, Will Power.
With a total of 259 points, Pato O’Ward holds the third position overall.
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