Zak Brown says Pato O’Wardis the first time in a formula 1 Car was very strong with the CEO of the McLaren F1 team Feeling like the Mexican did everything the team did in the young driver test during his run. asked of him Abu Dhabi earlier this month.
O’Ward, a front runner in the NTT IndyCar series in 2021 the chance to test a Formula 1 car for the first time as part of a bet with Brown, which offered the chance if he should bring his own Arrow McLaren SP Car on the winning track in 2021.
And that’s exactly what he did in the fourth race of the season Texas Motor Speedway, and last but not least, he also won the second race of the weekend at the Belle Isle Street Circuit in Detroit later in the year.
Given the limited number of young drivers in the modern Formula 1 era, it was important for O’Ward to be in the Yas Marina Circuit, and that’s exactly what he did before Brown and the rest of the McLaren setup.
“I think every time you put a driver in your Formula 1 car, you have so few test days and so few rookie days that you will just put someone in who makes it a meaningful test,” will Brown quoted by Racer.com.
“So it was a nice little reward, but we’d only put him in the car to understand how capable he is of driving a Formula 1 car.
“He did everything we wanted and expected of him. He was extremely quick and brave, but that didn’t surprise us. So we wanted to see more how he adapts? Will he keep it on the island? What is his feedback like?
“And all of this was very strong for his first outing in a Formula 1 car.”
With Formula 1 regulations now requiring every team to use rookie drivers in at least two free practice sessions in 2022, Brown says O’Ward could be a candidate for McLaren, but he will listen to any recommendation from the team boss Andreas Seidl before confirming the move.
“We have to do two FP1s next year,” said Brown. “Ultimately, it is primarily up to Andreas to make a recommendation and represent an opinion – although in the two years we have worked together I have always agreed with his recommendations and suggestions.
“We’re going to do a full analysis – there are still some rookie tests to be done, step by step, but a very good first step.”
