It’s no secret that Mexican racer Pato O’Ward is without doubt one of the hottest commodities in motorsport proper now. As an official member of the McLaren Driver Program, O’Ward shall be taking a Formula 1 automobile out for observe forward of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix later in November, however through the racing season right here in America, O’Ward is firmly centered on being the very best he can in IndyCar. The 24-year-old driver is on his approach to changing into a advertising guru, and so I wished to know: What can IndyCar do to reap the benefits of the exploding curiosity in motorsport that stemmed from Netflix’s Drive to Survive collection? O’Ward’s reply was easy: IndyCar must cease making an attempt to outdo F1.
“IndyCar needs to embrace Formula 1 and not compete against it,” O’Ward stated in an interview with Jalopnik throughout a observe day he hosted at Circuit of the Americas. “[Formula 1] is never going anywhere. It has invested astronomical numbers into the series and into making people feel like they’re part of something — but they did it by going to the biggest platforms.”
O’Ward is, after all, referring to the annual docuseries about F1 launched forward of every new season on Netflix. Formula 1 took a bet by investing within the collection, and that gamble paid off, maybe partly because of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Countless individuals had been confined to the sofa and searching for one thing new to look at. There at their fingertips was Drive to Survive. The docuseries explored a world many Americans hadn’t seen earlier than; paired with a fast return to competitors in 2020 and a compelling 2021 season, new followers in every single place had been hooked.
As the competitors in F1 has petered out in favor of a run of dominance by Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing, these new motorsport converts have seemed to the horizons for one thing a little bit extra racey by way of on-track motion. Perfectly poised to seize their consideration is IndyCar — however the open-wheel collection simply hasn’t fairly performed sufficient to attract these new audiences in.
“I don’t think [IndyCar] realizes how big the series can be if they just gave it more love,” O’Ward informed Jalopnik. “They’re giving it love, but they need to multiply it four or five times.”
O’Ward pointed to himself for instance: he’s one of many solely Latin American racers in motorsport usually, however his dedication to constructing and interesting his fan base has given him a profile that’s virtually extraordinary for a youthful IndyCar driver. He’s been in a position to leverage that fanbase in numerous methods, together with the observe day he’d organized at COTA; individuals love Pato, they usually’ll spend their hard-earned cash to get a sizzling lap from their idol and drive their very own sports activities vehicles on the identical observe as him. O’Ward has bought out grandstands devoted particularly to him — and that’s solely the start.
Because of that, a race in Mexico would seemingly carry out effectively for IndyCar. O’Ward has the profile to attract huge numbers in his residence nation, and that’s earlier than factoring within the feverish ardour Mexican sport followers maintain for members of their very own nation — whether or not or not they’ve heard of that type of sport earlier than or not.
“It’s mind-boggling that we don’t race in Mexico,” O’Ward stated, the exasperation clear in his voice. “And then IndyCar was like, oh, we’re gonna have an exhibition race at Thermal. What? If we’re going to do something, let’s do it properly.”
So, if O’Ward was answerable for IndyCar, what would he do?
“I wouldn’t do the exact same thing Formula 1 is doing, because it’s global. It always will be global,” he stated. “But we have this massive pool of people in Latin America waiting for a race. Go full-in. Brazil. Argentina. Mexico. Uruguay. Somewhere in South America, then maybe a race in Europe — then we’ve got a badass calendar.”
A world push would broaden IndyCar’s horizons, particularly if it had been to focus totally on shifting into Latin America and South America, the place solely a handful of prestigious worldwide racing occasions occur annually. As it presently stands, nonetheless, O’Ward believes IndyCar is underestimating itself and what it could actually obtain, as a substitute counting on the declare that its racing is way extra compelling than that present in F1 as its main promoting characteristic.
O’Ward, although, finds that mindset outdated, saying, “Formula 1 is your best example to show you that people don’t give a shit about racing. What really matters is everything that comes with it. IndyCar does the racing very well, but it’s not a prestige product.
“With F1 — before a car even hits the track, you know F1 is here in town because of everything it involves. IndyCar keeps saying, oh, budget — but there has to be a point where you’re like, screw budget. Let’s make this the best we can, and the rest will come. You have to trust that money will come in because you’re offering a product that is now worth it.
“The people who come to a race, they just want to be a part of the event. The racing aspect is the least of their worries.”
Source: jalopnik.com