Pato O’Ward is the current IndyCar points leader, and has revealed that he has additional bonuses lined up with McLaren CEO Zak Brown if he can claim the title this season.
Earlier in the year, Brown made public a deal with O’Ward to give the Mexican driver a test day in a MCL35M F1 car if he could claim his first IndyCar win in 2021.
The 22-year-old went on to win two races at Texas and Detroit, sealing his chance to get behind the wheel of one of the most advanced cars on the planet.
Now that he sits in the points lead with only three races remaining, O’Ward has revealed that he already has a deal in place for another perk should he claim the championship.
“Oh yes!” said O’Ward smiling widely when asked if such a deal exists. “He owes me two gifts. We never really made it public, and I won’t yet.
“Until it comes to that time, then I will share with everybody.
“It’s something cool!” he added when asked to give a hint. “I’ll leave it there. Zak is a great guy. I’m a big Zak Brown fan. We have fun doing all these bets.
“I’ve earned my first one, so hopefully I can check off two and three.”
Brown is known to have an extensive personal collection of historic race cars, as well as the ability to approve access to most McLaren Racing assets.
If things go his way over the next three weekends, we shouldn’t have to wait too long to know what added perks O’Ward has earned.
The third-year driver sits only 10 points ahead of Alex Palou heading into this weekend’s race from Portland.
