McLaren considering bringing IndyCar driver to Formula 1

F1 News

1 October 2021 at 18:40
Last update 1 October 2021 at 21:46
  • GPblog.com

McLaren is not only busy in Formula 1, but also in the IndyCar class, the team is very active. Team boss Zak Brown does not exclude that drivers from the American racing class will make the switch to the Formula 1 team.

The IndyCar season is over, but McLaren SP driver Pato O'Ward, who placed third in the championship, is not finished yet. In December, he will be invited to test for the Formula One team in Abu Dhabi.

Brown does not rule out F1 future for O'Ward

Every now and then a team will field a different driver during free practice to give them a chance to drive a Formula One car. However, according to Brown, this is out of the question. "We would never put another driver in during free practice, because he has no goal for the weekend. We're in a battle for third place in the championship and we're not going to do anything that might get in the way of that," he told the Dutch branch of Motorsport.com.

However, he is not ruling out O'Ward having a future with the Formula One team. "We will see that after he has driven the test in Abu Dhabi. His focus is on IndyCar and he would like to stay there. Drivers always have ambitions to drive in Formula 1, of course, but we'll wait and see how things go in Abu Dhabi first," the Mclaren team boss said.