Thrilled Zak Brown witnesses McLaren's 1st IndyCar win in-person as Pato O'Ward conquers Toronto

Pato O'Ward conquered the streets of Toronto to win his first IndyCar race on the bumpy 1.786-mile circuit that used to be his Achilles' Heel. It was McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown's first time witnessing Arrow McLaren take an IndyCar race win in person.

O'Ward started the race in P10 after getting knocked out in Round 2 of qualifying on Saturday. The 25-year-old couldn't get the alternate tires into the right window during qualifying, which prevented him from getting the perfect lap to advance to the Fast 6.

In the 90-lap race on Sunday, the pivotal moment came on lap 30 for the Mexican driver. Alexander Rossi made contact with the barriers on the exit of Turn 11, punctured his right rear tire, and drove into the runoff area in Turn 1. Arrow McLaren perfectly timed a pit stop for Pato O'Ward between Rossi crashing and the yellow flags coming out.

Though he came out in the midpack, he effectively became the race leader, with the others pitting after the caution ended and the pits opened. Thereon, O'Ward held his lead, ran a clean race, and fended off Rinus Veekay to take his second win of the season. He won the race under caution after teammate Nolan Siegel collided with Felix Rosenqvist with three laps to go.

Zak Brown, who saw Arrow McLaren take its first race win with him on the pit wall, was ecstatic. He shared a warm embrace with O'Ward in victory lane. Right before the podium celebrations, he spoke with FOX reporter Kevin Lee about the weekend, saying:

"I've always loved Toronto. Been here many times. I've seen us win a bunch on TV. Great to be here live. The Arrow McLaren team was spot on today."

During the broadcast, IndyCar commentator Will Buxton mentioned how skeptical Pato O'Ward was of doing well in the race. However, it was Zak Brown who brought the positive energy, emphasizing how he believes in 'miracles' in the context of O'Ward challenging Alex Palou for the 2025 championship.

The Mexican driver was 129 points behind reigning champion Palou before Toronto. With his victory and Palou finishing in an uncharacteristic P12, the gap came down to 99 points, with four races remaining in the season.

Pato O'Ward hilariously credits 'lucky' bird droppings for his IndyCar Toronto race win

Pato O'Ward's win at Toronto was his first win at the circuit in four attempts. The win was also his second in the last three races, after he won Race 1 of the Iowa double-header last weekend to give Chevrolet its first win of 2025.

In his post-race interview at Toronto, O'Ward thanked a bird for turning his luck around on the treacherous street circuit, where Arrow McLaren had struggled in the past few years.

"Before warmup today, there was a bird that dropped a load on the car on one of my guys, my outside front (crew member), and I said, 'That's going to be a good day today'."

Rinus Veekay and Kyffin Simpson joined Pato O'Ward on the podium. For Veekay, it was his first podium in three years, and for Simpson, it was his first career podium in IndyCar.

Edited by Tushar Bahl