{"id":1649,"date":"2026-09-05T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=1649"},"modified":"2026-09-05T08:02:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T11:02:03","slug":"oward-denies-mclaren-favoritism-and-hits-back-at-lundgaard-he-is-full-of-shit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/indy\/oward-denies-mclaren-favoritism-and-hits-back-at-lundgaard-he-is-full-of-shit\/","title":{"rendered":"O\u2019Ward denies McLaren favoritism and hits back at Lundgaard: \u201cHe is full of shit\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News summary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Pato O\u2019Ward denied Christian Lundgaard\u2019s claims that Arrow McLaren favors him<\/strong>, particularly when it comes to developing oval setups.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>O\u2019Ward called Lundgaard\u2019s version of events \u201cpure bullshit\u201d<\/strong> and said the 2 drivers usually develop their cars in different directions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Mexican heads into the Grand Prix of Monterey fighting for second in the 2026 IndyCar standings<\/strong>, after sweeping both Milwaukee races.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tensions at Arrow McLaren have risen ahead of the <strong>Grand Prix of Monterey<\/strong>, the 2026 IndyCar season finale at Laguna Seca. Christian Lundgaard, who will leave the papaya team at the end of the year, recently suggested that <strong>the team\u2019s oval development has been tailored to Pato O\u2019Ward<\/strong>, particularly when it comes to car setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">O\u2019Ward responded on Friday (4) during a Spanish-language interview with ESPN Deportes, using English to deliver a blunt assessment of Lundgaard\u2019s comments: <strong>\u201cHe is full of shit.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lundgaard, who has won 2 races in 2026 but will not remain with Arrow McLaren next season, had previously argued that Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist could face difficulties working alongside O\u2019Ward because of the Mexican\u2019s different driving style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou need teammates who need the same thing. In my opinion, Scott and Felix are going to have difficulties with Pato in that regard. Pato runs something very different. In my time with the team, the oval performance has only gone in one direction for whatever reason,\u201d Lundgaard said in an interview with Will Buxton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lundgaard is moving to Chip Ganassi Racing for 2027, while <strong>Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist will join Arrow McLaren<\/strong>. The Dane&#8217;s criticism came shortly before his departure from the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">O\u2019Ward, meanwhile, entered the Laguna Seca finale with momentum after <strong>winning both races at Milwaukee<\/strong>, moving himself into contention for the championship runner-up position behind newly crowned 5-time champion \u00c1lex Palou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the Mexican rejected the idea that McLaren&#8217;s oval development revolves around his preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEveryone in IndyCar is on their own little island. I know Christian loves to say that everything is made for me and he loves to say that the car only goes in the direction I ask for. But that thing he says about the oval program being only for what I want is pure bullshit, as we love to say in English: \u2018he is full of shit.\u2019 It\u2019s not true,\u201d O\u2019Ward said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The #5 driver also explained that the 2 McLaren cars generally follow <strong>different setup directions<\/strong>, rather than sharing a single philosophy dictated by O\u2019Ward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOn most tracks, we are always on opposite sides of the setup. He develops his car and I develop mine. In fact, in several races, if one is struggling a lot, you switch to the other\u2019s setup and you do better,\u201d O\u2019Ward explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">O\u2019Ward points to his own oval results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">O\u2019Ward also used his own 2026 results to challenge the suggestion that McLaren&#8217;s oval package has been designed around him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Mexican finished <strong>fourth in the Indianapolis 500<\/strong>, 11th at World Wide Technology Raceway and seventh at Nashville before winning both races of the Milwaukee doubleheader. The Milwaukee sweep was particularly significant because it also moved him firmly into the battle for second in the championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI know there are a lot of people talking and saying that everything is for Pato. As you can see, I\u2019ve struggled on ovals all year. In fact, the only ones I managed to pull off were Milwaukee. The rest I struggled with. Indy was so-so, but all the others were terrible compared to previous years,\u201d O\u2019Ward said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo if everything were for me, I would have won all the other ovals too. That\u2019s pure smoke,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The results also underline the complexity of the argument. O\u2019Ward had struggled for much of the season on ovals before finding the pace to win both Milwaukee races. At Mid-Ohio earlier in the year, he had also beaten Lundgaard to give Arrow McLaren its first 1-2 finish in IndyCar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">O\u2019Ward says runner-up battle is not personal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the increasingly public disagreement with Lundgaard, O\u2019Ward insisted that <strong>his push for second in the championship has nothing to do with beating his departing teammate<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn recent years, that has been automatic, right? I had always finished as the team leader. Christian has had a great year, but honestly, whether I finish second or third, I really don\u2019t care,\u201d O\u2019Ward said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf Christian finishes second and I finish third, I want to finish as high as possible because it would be a way to match my previous year. But at the end of the day, I don\u2019t target any other driver,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Snap-On-Makers-and-Fixers-250-and-Snap-on-Milwaukee-Mile-250-at-the-Milwaukee-Mile-Sunday_-August-30_-2026_Large-Image-Without-Watermark_m164409-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1020313395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Snap-On-Makers-and-Fixers-250-and-Snap-on-Milwaukee-Mile-250-at-the-Milwaukee-Mile-Sunday_-August-30_-2026_Large-Image-Without-Watermark_m164409-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Snap-On-Makers-and-Fixers-250-and-Snap-on-Milwaukee-Mile-250-at-the-Milwaukee-Mile-Sunday_-August-30_-2026_Large-Image-Without-Watermark_m164409-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Snap-On-Makers-and-Fixers-250-and-Snap-on-Milwaukee-Mile-250-at-the-Milwaukee-Mile-Sunday_-August-30_-2026_Large-Image-Without-Watermark_m164409-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Snap-On-Makers-and-Fixers-250-and-Snap-on-Milwaukee-Mile-250-at-the-Milwaukee-Mile-Sunday_-August-30_-2026_Large-Image-Without-Watermark_m164409-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Snap-On-Makers-and-Fixers-250-and-Snap-on-Milwaukee-Mile-250-at-the-Milwaukee-Mile-Sunday_-August-30_-2026_Large-Image-Without-Watermark_m164409-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Snap-On-Makers-and-Fixers-250-and-Snap-on-Milwaukee-Mile-250-at-the-Milwaukee-Mile-Sunday_-August-30_-2026_Large-Image-Without-Watermark_m164409-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pato O\u2019Ward responds to Christian Lundgaard\u2019s claims of favoritism at McLaren (Photo: IndyCar)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">O\u2019Ward enters the Laguna Seca finale with a realistic chance of finishing runner-up, while <strong>Lundgaard, Kyle Kirkwood and O\u2019Ward remain separated by only a handful of points<\/strong> in the fight for second. IndyCar&#8217;s official site described the battle as one of the key storylines heading into the season finale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI want to finish second in the championship because it\u2019s the best we can do this weekend. I knew that having a very good Milwaukee would open up that opportunity for me, and that\u2019s what has happened,\u201d O\u2019Ward concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The IndyCar season finale continues Saturday (5) with <strong>Practice 2 for the Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca<\/strong>, followed by qualifying. The race takes place Sunday (6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Why did Pato O\u2019Ward criticize Christian Lundgaard?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>O\u2019Ward was responding to Lundgaard\u2019s claim that Arrow McLaren\u2019s oval development is primarily tailored to the #5 car.<\/strong> O\u2019Ward denied that the team favors him and said the 2 drivers generally develop their cars in different directions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Who is fighting for second in the 2026 IndyCar championship?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Christian Lundgaard, Kyle Kirkwood and Pato O\u2019Ward<\/strong> are fighting for the runner-up position behind \u00c1lex Palou, who has already secured his 5th IndyCar championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. When is the 2026 IndyCar race at Laguna Seca?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>Grand Prix of Monterey<\/strong> is the 2026 IndyCar season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The race is scheduled for Sunday, September 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pato O\u2019Ward rejected Christian Lundgaard\u2019s claims that McLaren\u2019s oval program is built around the #5 driver, firing back at his departing teammate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020313768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"O\u2019Ward responds to Lundgaard\u2019s claims of favoritism at McLaren ","42wp_featured_image_credits":"IndyCar","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[403,398,9,10,110],"42wp_author":[55],"class_list":["post-1649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indy","tag-arrow-mclaren","tag-christian-lundgaard","tag-indycar","tag-mclaren","tag-pato-oward","42wp_author-caio-cavalcante"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1649"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1650,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1649\/revisions\/1650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020313768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1649"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=1649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}