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IndyCar: Patricio O’Ward says he never rejected Andretti Autosport’s offer

By Asher Fair

SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Patricio O'Ward of Mexico driver of the #8 Harding Racing Chevrolet during qualifying for the Verizon IndyCar Series Sonoma Grand Prix at Sonoma Raceway on September 15, 2018 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Patricio O'Ward of Mexico driver of the #8 Harding Racing Chevrolet during qualifying for the Verizon IndyCar Series Sonoma Grand Prix at Sonoma Raceway on September 15, 2018 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /
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Patricio O’Ward has revealed that he did not reject an offer from Andretti Autosport to compete in eight races throughout the 2019 IndyCar season.

Patricio O’Ward is still searching for an IndyCar ride for the 2019 season after he parted ways with Harding Steinbrenner Racing earlier this week. He had been slated to drive for the team since a few days after he made his IndyCar debut in the 2018 season finale at Sonoma Raceway driving for Harding Racing in September.

O’Ward was set to drive the #88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing Honda on a full-time basis this season after winning the 2018 Indy Lights championship driving for Andretti Autosport. He was set to be a teammate to 2018 Indy Lights runner-up Colton Herta, who is still set to drive the #8 Honda on a full-time basis this year.

Andretti Autosport team owner Michael Andretti revealed earlier this week that he offered O’Ward a deal over this past weekend before his departure from Harding Steinbrenner Racing was made public.

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Andretti stated that he offered O’Ward to drive for the team in eight of the season’s 17 races but that O’Ward turned down this offer.

O’Ward was awarded a $1 million scholarship to compete in three IndyCar races, including the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500, this season for winning the 2018 Indy Lights championship.

As a result, he should end up competing in the series on some level this season even if he doesn’t drive for Andretti Autosport. But while admitting that he did receive an offer from Andretti to drive for the team in eight races throughout the season that he did not accept, the 19-year-old Mexican has revealed that he never rejected it.

Here is what O’Ward had to say about the situation, according to IndyCar.

"“I’ve always been grateful to Michael Andretti and his team. Honestly, I never thought we would end up in this situation. I have a lot of respect for him and I’ll always be grateful for what he helped me with last year in Indy Lights.“The truth of the matter is that I can’t talk about what happened with me and Harding and my release, and Michael knows the situation that I’m in. I had to sign a confidentiality settlement agreement in order to get released. Michael knows all the facts because we spoke on the phone many times last Friday, and it sucks that I can’t talk about it, but we both know the truth.“There are reasons why (the Andretti ride) wasn’t the priority offer to take. I wanted to see what options I had, but I never did. I never said no to Michael’s eight-race offer. Unfortunately, this whole thing has left me without a ride, but I won’t give up in trying to find something.”"

He also posted a tweet about it.

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With Patricio O’Ward seemingly having no clear options in terms of driving full-time in the 2019 IndyCar season at this time, will he end up driving in eight of the season’s 17 races for Andretti Autosport since he has not, in his mind, actually rejected Michael Andretti’s offer?

With the season opener, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, scheduled to get the season underway in under three and a half weeks on Sunday, March 10 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, more about this situation should become public knowledge in the near future.