Loud engines, South American races: How Pato O’Ward believes IndyCar can challenge Formula 1

Ask Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward how he feels about the IndyCar open-wheel series, and he’ll tell you that the American open-wheel series provides some of the best racing action in all of motorsport. The only problem is that is that not enough people are watching.

But how to get more eyes on IndyCar? In a recent interview, O’Ward shared a handful of ideas that he feels could guide the series forward.

Pato O’Ward: “Why does everybody want to go to Formula 1?”

Speaking to streamer Ash Vandelay and journalist Elizabeth Blackstock during their weekly motorsport stream “ The Elizabeth + Ash Show ,” Pato O’Ward pointed out that IndyCar’s No. 1 goal should be growing an international fanbase.

“Almost everybody would be pretty keen to go international,” O’Ward said of his fellow drivers.

However, the Mexican driver noted that IndyCar has been resistant, saying, “The excuse is always that our sponsors don’t care about international [markets].  Well, then why does everybody want to go to Formula 1? Like, your excuse is not accepted.”

O’Ward pointed to the diversity of talent available in IndyCar: Alex Palou from Spain, Will Power from Australia, even NTT, IndyCar’s title sponsor, which is based in Japan. Surely, he reasoned, there’s value in heading to these untapped international markets.

Further, he pointed out that IndyCar is a compelling sport, but its regional status inherently limits its ability to grow.

“[IndyCar] can’t be compared to Formula 1, because they go worldwide. They’ve got a few races in the US, but they don’t have 17 races in the US.

“I guarantee you, if we had one race in every continent, it would be easier to achieve [growth], because not everything is concentrated in one country.”

O’Ward reiterated his idea for what could effectively be considered an “Americas” championship: That IndyCar could expand throughout North and South America and, as a result, tap into passionate audiences that aren’t being serviced by Formula 1.

“I’m very big on, we have to go to Mexico,” O’Ward said of his native country. “We’re wasting time not tapping into Brazil.”

He also noted that there are “a lot of Latin places” that F1 ignores but that IndyCar could easily adopt, such as Argentina or Uruguay, which have amassed enthusiastic fanbases.

“It’s like staring at a gold plate,” he said. “It’s like, yeah, it’d going to take some investment to get [IndyCar] there.

“But once we are there, the series will just appeal so much more to the masses. We just have to tap into that.”

More on IndyCar’s ties to Formula 1:

👉 Revealed: The American racing concept that Formula 1 should adopt

👉 Aeroscreen: The life-saving IndyCar technology that was rejected by Formula 1

But an Americas-based international schedule isn’t the only way IndyCar could distinguish itself from Formula 1; O’Ward also suggests highlighting IndyCar’s other strength: Its “rawness.”

IndyCar has recently transitioned to hybrid powertrains in an effort to appeal to more manufacturers, but O’Ward doesn’t agree with the move.

“[The hybrids] don’t sound very good,” O’Ward admitted, “at least when you compare them to what [engines sounded] like a few decades ago, where you were like, “Oh my God, what was that?

“The noise alone would turn somebody that had no idea what racing was into a fan, just because of how insane that experience was: hearing them, seeing them.

“Why don’t we go against what Formula 1 has done with their cars, and we go to the more raw, loud, obnoxious, and just badass race car that practically doesn’t exist anymore?”

Still, even as O’Ward made it clear that there was no “one clear answer” to enhance IndyCar’s marketing and grow the sport, he does believe that IndyCar “has the code to do it.”

“It’s important to tap into what really makes [IndyCar] truly special,” he said, pinpointing things like the compelling driving, and the history and magic of the Indianapolis 500, the series’ crown jewel race.

“More times than not, people that go to an IndyCar race are like, ‘Wow, this is cool!’ And it’s like, well, what caused them to go there in the first place?”

Finding out what’s already attracting fans, then using that information to reach out to different groups — that’s how IndyCar will be able to challenge Formula 1.

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