Pato O'Ward is to continue as the McLaren F1 reserve driver in 2025, RacingNews365 understands.
The McLaren IndyCar star has filled the role since being officially named as a reserve to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ahead of the 2024 season, with the Mexican set to continue in post heading into the '25 campaign.
O'Ward has been in the McLaren fold since joining the IndyCar programme in 2020, and has since won seven races, and finishing an agonising second in the '24 Indy 500 after being overtaken on the final lap by Josef Newgarden.
O'Ward has taken part in three F1 practice sessions for McLaren, fulfilling the rookie driver FP1 slots, with his appearances coming at the 2022 and 2023 Abu Dhabi Grands Prix as well as his home Mexico City GP in '24.
He has also taken part in considerable TPC testing, and was also behind the wheel of the championship-winning MCL38 for the post-Abu Dhabi test, days after the 2024 season finale.
There are 10 clashes between IndyCar and F1 between the F1 season-opener on March 16th and the IndyCar finale on August 31st.
These include the April 13th clash with the Bahrain GP and Long Beach, Indy 500 qualifying with Imola on May 17th-18th and the 500 itself on May 25th.
The final clash is the IndyCar finale in Nashville on August 31st with the Dutch GP, meaning from the Italian GP onwards, O'Ward would be able to serve if required, but should O'Ward be racing in IndyCar, RacingNews365 understands McLaren could call upon the Mercedes pool of reserve drivers, including potentially Valtteri Bottas.
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