©IndyCar
A brilliant Pato O'Ward delivered to Arrow McLaren SP in Alabama on Sunday its first win of the season in the NTT IndyCar Series.
Although proceedings at Barber Motorsport Park had been largely dominated by poleman Rinus VeeKay, O'Ward lunged around the outside of the Ed Carpenter Racing driver at Turn 5 to snatch the effective lead with one third of the race to go.
Thereafter, it was all about race management for the 22-year-old Mexican who held off reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou to conquer his third career win in the series.
©IndyCar
It was a timely win for O'Ward who is currently holding talks with McLaren over a new contract with its IndyCar outfit.
"Man, it sucks to be at war within your own team," he said, right after his triumph.
"’m glad there’s been very positive talks for the future and man I wanted to do it for these guys. I wanted to do it for Arrow McLaren SP, Team Chevy.
"There's been very positive conversations. I think the vibe in the team is fantastic. I think that's what we need going into the month of May. The rest I think will take care of itself."
