Pato O’Ward qualified second at the Grand Prix of Portland, but will start from P1 amidst IndyCar Championship battle with Alex Palou.
Christian Lundgaard took pole position in qualifying at Portland, but drops to P7 due to a six-place grid penalty.
O’Ward’s starting position is crucial amidst his Drivers’ Championship battle with Palou – especially as Palou can secure the title with certain results at the Portland GP. O’Ward last won at Indy Toronto, but needs to convert his P1 to victory to stand a chance against Palou.
Speaking in the post-qualifying press conference, O’Ward feels that the Championship fight is likely over, but will try his best to keep on scoring points.
O’Ward proud of the turnaround between the 2024 Portland GP and now
It was a disappointing weekend for O’Ward and his Arrow McLaren team at the 2024 Grand Prix of Portland. The Mexican qualified in P23 and finished P15 as the McLaren car failed to show any pace. Speaking on the remarkable difference to last year, O’Ward expressed great pride at his team’s efforts.
“Super proud of the team. A massive turnaround to where we were here last year. Super proud of everybody and all the work that’s gone into specifically this weekend to turn things around.”
O’Ward delighted with surprise qualifying result
O’Ward finished P9 and P11 in the two practice sessions so far this weekend, and his result in qualifying is quite the turn of pace. Speaking on his result, the McLaren man says that he knew pole was on the cards after his Round 1 Group 2 P1 lap.
“I must say it’s a bit of a surprise on my side. Practice, we weren’t quite getting there. The car randomly turned alive, not really changing anything from P2 to qualifying. Just a little bit here and there. But yeah, I was super pleased with that Q1.
“As soon as I felt where the car was, I knew we had a shot for pole. Just missed it there with Palou getting onto the wall in our optimal kind of temp window. Happy for Christian getting the fastest lap there and doing a 1-2.”
O’Ward resigned to defeat in Drivers’ Championship battle
Palou can confirm victory in this season’s IndyCar Drivers’ Championship should he leave Portland with a 108-point gap over O’Ward. Although O’Ward does have a chance to win the title, he admits that it will be a tall order.
“The guy’s pretty much won it already. I know they’re making a big deal out of this, Championship 5. We are 130 points back. He has got to have the worst luck he’s ever had in his career, just like the best luck he’s had in his career this year, in order for us to keep this alive.
“We’re focusing on our car, on our end of the grid and see where we can capitalise, hopefully just keep on scoring points.”
