IndyCar: Is Andretti Autosport a fallback option for Patricio O’Ward?

Patricio O’Ward has denied rejecting Andretti Autosport’s offer to drive in eight of the 17 races on the 2019 IndyCar schedule. Is driving for the team a fallback option?

Patricio O’Ward had been set to be one of Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s two drivers for the 2019 IndyCar season since shortly after the 2018 season ended this past September.

The 19-year-old Mexican made his IndyCar debut driving for Harding Racing in the season finale at Sonoma Raceway behind the wheel of the #88 Chevrolet, and a few days later, he was confirmed as the full-time driver of the #88 Chevrolet for the 2019 season, although that became the #88 Honda when the team switched announced their engine manufacturer switch in December.

But an announcement made earlier this week revealed that Harding Steinbrenner Racing and O’Ward had parted ways ahead of the 2019 season, which is now scheduled to get underway in just over three weeks with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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After this announcement was made, Andretti Autosport team owner Michael Andretti revealed that he offered O’Ward a deal to drive for his IndyCar team this season.

Andretti reportedly offered O’Ward, who drove for Andretti Autosport in his championship-winning rookie Indy Lights season in 2018, a deal to drive for his team in eight of the 17 races on this year’s schedule, but he stated that O’Ward rejected this offer. However, O’Ward has since stated that he never rejected Andretti’s offer, but he didn’t come right out and accept it, either.

Had O’Ward flat-out rejected this offer, it would make sense for him to already have another unannounced full-time ride lined up for the 2019 season. After all, Andretti Autosport are arguably the best team in IndyCar, so closing the door on an eight-race deal with nothing else better in the works may not have been the best decision for O’Ward.

But because of the fact that he did not reject this offer, it does not appear that he already has another unannounced full-time ride lined up for the 2019 season, and because of the fact that he did not accept it, it would appear as though he is still leaving the door open for other options, potentially in the form of a full-time ride.

He confirmed just that on Twitter.

O’Ward does have a $1 million scholarship at his disposal that he earned by winning the 2018 Indy Lights championship, and this guarantees him an entry in three races on the 2019 IndyCar schedule, including the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 in May.

So O’Ward leaving the door open for a potential full-time ride at this time makes even more sense. While this scholarship only covers him for three races, it could go a long way in terms of landing him a full-time ride. Most recently, 2016 Indy Lights champion Ed Jones drove full-time for Dale Coyne Racing in the 2017 IndyCar season.

Assuming that Andretti is aware that O’Ward did not flat-out reject his offer and that he would be willing to sign the 2018 Indy Lights champion to this eight-race deal if he does not end up signing elsewhere, it would appear that this eight-race deal is the fallback option for O’Ward. Whether or not it will be the option that he ends up going with remains to be seen.

Will Patricio O’Ward end up driving in eight of the 2019 IndyCar season’s 17 races for Andretti Autosport? If not, for which team or teams, if any team or teams, will he end up driving this year, and in how many races will he drive? The season opener is rapidly approaching, as it is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 10, so expect at least some of these questions to be answered by then.