O’Ward’s Indy 500 performance made his case as Ricciardo’s McLaren replacement

But is he really ready for F1? Why not? Given how young top F1 drivers hit the grid these days, he’ll almost become too old if he doesn’t make the leap in the next couple of years. As we’ve seen, he appears to have the maturity and also a healthy dose of the right stuff when it comes to mental resilience and self-confidence.

McLaren is also well positioned to take a chance on an IndyCar recruit right now. In Lando Norris, the team boasts a driver of the requisite experience and high ability to lead the line, and as it is still falling well short of battling for world championships O’Ward’s inevitable growing pains were he to plunge in would be a cost worth paying – especially if he begins to show potential race-winning caliber. Stick him in for next year and he’d have two seasons to mature before the 2026 powertrain regulation reset kicks in. Perfect timing, whether McLaren is powered by Audi or otherwise, as now seems more likely.

Of all the team chiefs in F1, Zak Brown would surely love to spin the bottle on a talent coming out of the IndyCar leftfield. The American chose to be at Indy on Sunday over Monaco, presumably not only because he knew his team had a more realistic pitch for victory than in the Principality, but also because the 500 is in his blood. What he saw was a driver who gave it everything to win, recognized the limitations of his car, didn’t blow his lines under intense pressure and made the most of what he had beneath him. Brown couldn’t have asked for more.

Ricciardo spent another weekend struggling in the midfield at Monaco

McLaren

Nothing is easy on this one, of course. O’Ward and Brown have just come out of what was a bruising negotiation to tie the driver to McLaren until 2025, during which time Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta was also signed to a junior deal, further muddying the water. O’Ward was said to have driven a hard bargain, but surely the toughest part has been done and Brown has admitted F1 seat time is likely to be part of that deal anyway. There’s a growing case to argue that amount of time should be more than the odd test and simulator work back in Woking. From where we’re sitting, O’Ward is as ready as he’ll ever be to take the big leap and prove his worth on the toughest stage of them all.