McLaren IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward says he has asked to be relieved of his Formula 1 driving duties.
O'Ward, last year's IndyCar runner-up with McLaren, has made five FP1 appearances for McLaren - three in Abu Dhabi, and two more at his home grand prix in Mexico - as well as four official outings in post-season tests at Abu Dhabi.
He has also served as one of the F1 team's official reserve drivers since 2024.
But O'Ward, who is in his seventh IndyCar season with Mclaren, said he now felt he was at a "different point of my life" and did not "really get to dictate my schedule at all" around those F1 commitments.
He said he therefore spoke to McLaren CEO Zak Brown and "politely asked to be fired" from his F1 services to prioritise his IndyCar career.
Speaking on the Speed Street podcast with Conor Daly - who appeared on The Race F1 Podcast this week himself - O'Ward said: "I haven't had an off-season in the last five years. I want to enjoy my life outside of racing because it does consume me and it has consumed me in the last five years.
"Recently, actually, I obviously went to Zak [to speak about this] because he's the guy that calls the shots. I'm grateful for the experiences and all the things that I've been able to learn in the world of Formula 1. And obviously, driving those race cars, especially the last few years, has been just an amazing experience just to feel what they're capable of.
"But I really think I'm just in a different point of my life now and I really don't care anymore. There's really nothing in me that is aching to keep on as a reserve in Formula 1 because I'm in a great place in IndyCar. I love the series. That's where I want to be."
O'Ward added that he had not been enticed by the latest F1 ruleset and cars that feature a notional 50/50 split between internal combustion engine and electrical power.
"Looking at what the race cars are currently, I'm not really excited to drive one," said O'Ward, who won IndyCar's most recent race at Mid-Ohio last weekend.
The 27-year-old also referenced a desire to have adequate time to prepare for the 2027 season, one where he will be part of a refreshed McLaren line-up that includes the landmark signing of six-time champion Scott Dixon and the rehiring of this year's Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist.
Put to him by Daly that dropping those commitments would allow him to focus on "being the best you can be in the job that you have", O'Ward added: "Exactly. It's all about maximising where you're at, right?
"I can't tell you the amount of times that people are like, 'When Formula 1, when Formula 1?' And obviously that's been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid.
"But also being around that world for many years and inside of it - I know I wasn't a full-time racing driver there, but I have enough of a whiff of what that world is like - and I genuinely don't think that is for me. It's not a place where I can say I've enjoyed [myself] more than IndyCar. It's not really somewhere where, at this point in time, I don't see my future there. I genuinely just don't.
"I think goals can change as life goes on, as you experience. And I think my experience and just being able to see how that world works, and then also getting to experience what the IndyCar world is like, even in a more personal level, because I am more involved in it. Man, IndyCar is the best place for motor racing. I think many others can have a different opinion, but for me, that's where I'm happy.
"I don't need to be more famous. I don't need more money. I'm already in a position that I never thought I was ever going to be when I was younger. I'm very lucky. I'm very grateful to be where I'm at today. And it really is a privilege to be able to race and experience what it is like to be in IndyCar and to be an IndyCar driver.
"Because I know F1 is put on a pedestal, but just because the plate looks like gold doesn't mean what you're eating is healthier for you."
from The Race https://ift.tt/I6emVzQ
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