Pato O'Ward's McLaren boss has Alex Palou's picture 'on his fridge' to fuel their game every day

Arrow McLaren star Pato O'Ward is chasing Alex Palou in the IndyCar championship with three races to go. Amid this, the Arrow McLaren team boss, Tony Kanaan, talked about the Spaniard's dominance and shared that he has Palou's image on his fridge to fuel the team's game.

McLaren boss Kanaan featured on The Race IndyCar podcast after the IndyCar round at Laguna Seca. The host asked the Brazilian whether he felt that the 2025 season had been the best one so far for Arrow McLaren and how Kannan looked at it in comparison to the season CGR & Palou had.

Tony Kanaan suggested that Arrow McLaren was still a relatively new team, taking steps toward what Palou & CGR have achieved this season. Hailing the CGR driver and sharing how the Spaniard fueled the Papaya team, Kanaan said:

“It's pretty remarkable what Palou is doing, to be fair. I mean, as a driver, it's one of those seasons that he will never forget because he dominated. We will never forget because we got beat. We can't wake up. But I got to give it to the guy. He's raising my game every day. I wake up with his picture on my fridge every morning. I look at his face.”

Alex Palou's win at Laguna Seca puts him in a strong position for the IndyCar title, as he leads Pato O'Ward by 121 points in the championship. Laguna Seca was the Spaniard's eighth win of the season, and he has the opportunity to break the record of most wins in a season if he wins the remaining three races.

Pato O'Ward shares his opinion about the IndyCar championship battle with Alex Palou after Laguna Seca

Pato O'Ward won the IndyCar race in Toronto and closed down the gap to Alex Palou to just 99 points. However, during last weekend's IndyCar race at Laguna Seca, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver once again showcased his dominance by first taking the pole position and then leading over 80 laps to take the win.

Pato O'Ward, on the other hand, started in P2 and fell back through the race, and barely managed to finish in P4. The Spaniard was able to increase the gap in the championship from 99 to 121 points. While the championship is still mathematically possible for the Arrow McLaren driver, it is highly unlikely.

Speaking about the championship challenge, O'Ward said, via FOX:

“It’s a tall task, but still mathematically possible. Is it likely? Probably not, but we're going to keep on pushing...We never really got worse than fifth this month. So five races in the top five and two of those being wins. That's pretty awesome.”

If Pato O'Ward can finish second in the championship, it will be his best-ever IndyCar season, with his previous best result being the 3rd-place finish in 2021 with Arrow McLaren.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam