Mexican IndyCar star Pato O’Ward will return to Formula 1 machinery for the second consecutive year as McLaren has confirmed his participation in Free Practice 1 at the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix this October.

The Monterrey native, who competes full-time for Arrow McLaren in the NTT IndyCar Series while serving as a reserve driver for the McLaren Formula 1 team, will take to his home circuit at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in front of passionate local fans.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella praised O’Ward’s previous contributions, stating: “We are pleased to confirm that Pato O’Ward will participate in Free Practice 1 at the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix as he gains valuable time behind the wheel of the MCL39. Pato provided an appreciated contribution last season and continues to impress in the NTT IndyCar Series, making him a suitable driver for the Free Practice 1 session.”

Stella emphasized that the practice session would provide “further knowledge for Pato as he continues to be available as part of our reserve driver pool for the second year, ensuring we have a wide pool of drivers available to be called upon if required.”

O’Ward expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity to drive in front of his home crowd again: “I’m excited to be jumping back in the car for FP1 at my home race in Mexico this year. The Mexico City fans were unbelievable last time out, and it was a great feeling being able to extract everything from the program that the team had planned.”

The Mexican driver added that he’s “looking forward to going again this year, working with Zak [Brown], Andrea and the whole team.”

This announcement continues McLaren’s strategy of developing its reserve driver talent while fulfilling F1’s requirements for teams to provide practice opportunities for young drivers throughout the season.

The 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix is scheduled for October, with O’Ward set to gain more valuable Formula 1 experience in the MCL39 that has proven competitive in the current championship.

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