McLaren announce driver REPLACEMENT at Mexican GP following…read more
McLaren has announced a driver change for the upcoming Mexican Grand Prix, opting to replace one of their regular drivers during the first practice session. The British team, currently in the midst of a competitive season against Red Bull and Max Verstappen, is making this move after a challenging weekend at the United States Grand Prix.
In the recent race in Austin, Texas, McLaren’s Lando Norris, who began from pole position, faced difficulties right from the start. He lost his leading position on the opening lap, eventually slipping to fourth place, finishing behind Verstappen and the Ferrari drivers, who secured a dominant one-two finish. Despite falling back, Norris found himself in a fierce battle with Verstappen for third in the latter part of the race. This duel ended in controversy when Norris overtook Verstappen after running off-track, leading to a penalty that demoted him from third to fourth place. This incident widened the gap between Verstappen and Norris in the drivers’ standings to 57 points, intensifying the pressure on the McLaren driver as the championship fight heads to Mexico.
As part of their strategy for the Mexican Grand Prix, McLaren has confirmed that Pato O’Ward, their reserve driver, will take over from either Norris or Oscar Piastri for the FP1 session in Mexico City. O’Ward, who competes in the IndyCar series for Arrow McLaren, is also the team’s F1 reserve driver. This will mark O’Ward’s first time driving a Formula 1 car in front of a home crowd.
O’Ward expressed his excitement about this opportunity, sharing that while he has attended many Mexican Grands Prix, this will be his first experience behind the wheel during an F1 session. He looks forward to the challenge of driving one of the fastest cars on the grid and aims to make a positive contribution to the team’s efforts for the weekend.
“My role in FP1 is to try and help and make the weekend as smooth as possible for the team,” O’Ward explained, emphasizing that he hopes his performance will aid Norris and Piastri as they prepare for the main race. This practice session will be an opportunity for O’Ward to gain F1 experience while giving the regular drivers more data to work with as they seek to optimize their cars’ performance on a high-speed circuit.
The decision to include O’Ward comes as McLaren looks to maintain momentum in a closely fought season, with each point proving crucial in the battle for positions in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.
