Once again, Pato O’Ward‘s chances of taking the victory at the Indianapolis 500 were complicated by a late yellow flag in the 110th edition held this Sunday, following a race where the Mexican had worked hard to find the pace with a new chassis he had not used at the Brickyard in previous years.
O’Ward and Arrow McLaren developed a strategy that allowed them to prepare the car for the final stint. After the crash that damaged his primary car in the penultimate practice, the Mexican had to focus on Carb Day and the first part of the race on finding the right setup.
Although he was outside the top four in the first half, the second part of the race was almost perfect. With a proper fuel-saving strategy, he managed to lead the competition in the final quarter of the race before engaging in a duel with Felix Rosenqvist.
What looked like a two-way fight ended up becoming a four-way battle after Caio Collet suffered an accident eight laps from the end, forcing a red flag and a restart. In that position, O’Ward, who was running second, knew he was at a disadvantage, and in the end, his prediction came true.
“The strategy was right on point. We did everything we could. I think we over-exceeded with truly what we had,” the Mexican said at the end of the race before delivering his verdict.
“It was a very long day, but definitely a disappointing Sunday because there’s really not much more for me here rather than winning.”
O’Ward highlighted the fuel consumption management, but in the end, it all came down to an issue that made it feel as if the brakes were dragging, which hindered the fight on a restart.
“In the end, I didn’t have fuel concerns, but I couldn’t catch the cars in front of me. I couldn’t keep up. When everybody was turning it up, I could not keep up. It was literally like having a parachute behind you, and I was helpless.”
O’Ward was clear that his only chance to fight for the win was if the yellow flag did not come out. That feeling was also evident at McLaren, with Zak Brown visibly upset when the final caution appeared.
“For me, I had to keep the car going in order to keep my position. Every single time we had a restart, it was basically game over and we lost positions because, like I said, we basically had a parachute behind us with the brake dragging. When you have that all day, it makes for a very long day, but that’s just how it goes.”
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