IndyCar: Patricio O'Ward tipped to drive for Arrow McLaren Racing SP in 2020

Patricio O’Ward has been tipped to drive for Arrow McLaren Racing SP in the 2020 IndyCar season after a tumultuous 2019 season.

Since winning the 2018 Indy Lights championship driving for Andretti Autosport, Patricio O’Ward’s racing career has been one rollercoaster of a journey. It started when he made his IndyCar debut in the 2018 season finale at Sonoma Raceway driving for Harding Racing.

O’Ward qualified for this race in fifth place and finished in ninth, both the highest marks for the team throughout the entire 2018 season.

Harding Racing and Indy Lights team Steinbrenner Racing then joined forces to form Harding Steinbrenner Racing for the 2019 season, and they confirmed O’Ward as one of their drivers along with 2018 Indy Lights runner-up Colton Herta.

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But less than one month before the 2019 season began, O’Ward was released by the team for financial reasons. He did end up landing a ride to compete, but it was only a 13-race deal to drive for Carlin. The 2019 season featured 17 races.

O’Ward only ended up competing in seven of these 13 races, or eight if you including his failed Indianapolis 500 attempt. He joined the Red Bull Junior Team in May, and that led to him competing in three Japanese Super Formula races along with two Formula 2 races. He made his final IndyCar start of the season at Road America in June.

But just a few weeks ago, Red Bull released him.

Fortunately for him, the next part of this rollercoaster appears to be a good one.

O’Ward has been tipped to land with Arrow McLaren Racing SP, the team formed when Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports switched from Honda engines to Chevrolet engines and joined forces with McLaren, for the 2020 season after previous rumors suggested that he would end up there following his release from Red Bull.

Arrow McLaren Racing SP are expected to confirm their 2020 driver lineup later this week, and 2019 Indy Lights champion Oliver Askew has also been tipped to land with the team, leaving James Hinchcliffe, who has driven for the team in each of the last five seasons, without a ride.

In his eight IndyCar starts thus far, O’Ward has recorded two top 10 finishes, including his aforementioned ninth place finish at Sonoma Raceway in 2018 and his career-high eighth place finish in his first start of the 2019 season at Circuit of the Americas. He qualified in the top 10 for five of these eight races.

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Assuming that Arrow McLaren Racing SP do confirm Patricio O’Ward as one of their two full-time drivers for the 2020 IndyCar season, how will he perform as a true rookie in America’s premier open-wheel racing series? Given what he has demonstrated thus far, there is no doubt that he has the potential to be a star.

IndyCar: Patricio O’Ward tipped to drive for Arrow McLaren Racing SP in 2020

By Asher Fair | Oct 30, 2019

Patricio O’Ward has been tipped to drive for Arrow McLaren Racing SP in the 2020 IndyCar season after a tumultuous 2019 season.