McLaren reserve driver 'asks to be fired from F1' after 2027 seat confirmed

McLaren reserve driver Pato O'Ward has "asked to be fired from all my services in Formula 1" after conceding a lack of excitement at the prospect of driving this year's machinery. 

O'Ward shares reserve driver duties with reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli. He has been a part of the McLaren family since 2020, when he joined Arrow McLaren SP in IndyCar, and was rewarded for a strong season by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown in 2021, with a seat in the post-season young driver test in Abu Dhabi. 

Private tests and FP1 outings have since followed for the Mexican, with his most recent outing in FP1 at last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix now looking like it will be his last F1 experience. 

McLaren recently confirmed that O'Ward will remain with the team into the 2027 IndyCar season, where he will partner six-time champion Scott Dixon, and the returning Felix Rosenqvist, who won this year's Indianapolis 500.

With his IndyCar future secure, however, O'Ward is ready to close the book on F1. 

Speaking on the Speed Street podcast, he said: "I'm grateful for the experiences and all I've been able to learn in the world of F1, and obviously, driving those cars, especially the last few years, I've had an amazing experience just to what they are capable of.

"But I think I'm at a different point in my life now, and I don't really care anymore.

“There is nothing in me that is aching me to continue as a reserve in F1. I'm in a great place in IndyCar. I love the series. That's where I want to be."

O'Ward has been a consistent front-runner in IndyCar since joining McLaren, finishing regularly in the top seven of the championship order.

The nature of overtaking in modern F1 with a focus on electrical deployment has left many drivers frustrated, and earlier this year, O'Ward made his feelings on the topic clear, saying: “You don’t want to be flipping a switch to say, ‘Oh, I’m going to press it to pass him artificially.’ It’s not Mario Kart; we’re racing here. Honestly, I have zero desire to be part of that.”

His feelings on the matter have clearly not mellowed over time, as he added in his recent interview: "I'm not excited to drive one, so I have politely asked to be fired from all my services in F1.

"I want to focus on my priorities. A lot of the time, I don't really get to dictate my schedule at all.

“In the last four or five years, I haven't been able to do really any of that, so. 

“I want to be able to train more; I want to be able to eat better, and just prepare for 2027, which is going to come fast.”