Pato O'Ward roasts critics of his future IndyCar teammate Scott Dixon

WEST ALLIS – Pato O’Ward didn’t hold back.

>Speaking publicly for the first time since the announcement of his 2027 teammates, the popular Mexican driver unloaded on anyone who doubts Scott Dixon or questions why Arrow McLaren would hire a 46-year-old as it looks to the future.

>“I’ve been shocked at the disrespect that he’s received,” O’Ward said July 8 during an NTT IndyCar Series test at the Milwaukee Mile.

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>“For people to talk down somebody like that really is a shame. Talk down on me as much as you want. Like, I don’t care. But to talk down on somebody like Scott Dixon … sometimes I really do feel like I wish people felt ashamed a little bit more because to disrespect somebody from that caliber and that level …

>“It’s just it erases any decency of what an athlete goes through. You won’t always be winning races and winning every championship every year. You will always go through cycles. I truly believe he’s going to be such a great addition to this team.”

>Arrow McLaren announced July 6 that it would not bring back Christian Lundgaard – a two-time winner this season who sits third in the standings – and Nolan Siegel next season in favor of teaming O’Ward with Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist.

>Dixon is a six-time IndyCar champion and sits second on the all-time Indy-car racing wins list with 59, eight behind A.J. Foyt. Fifty-eight of those, including the 2008 Indianapolis 500, were earned over 25 seasons with Chip Ganassi Racing, which he joined in 2002 while still in Champ Car.

>Since the start of 2024, though, Dixon has managed just three victories while teammate Alex Palou has won 16 times. Palou has claimed four of the five championships since Dixon last won one in 2020, and he leads the standings through 11 of 18 races.

>“He maybe hasn’t had some of the best years the last couple,” O’Ward said of Dixon. “But guys like him don’t forget how to drive.

>“This cycle of racing goes up and down, and I feel like for someone like him to make a change after so many years somewhere and to receive some of the backlash that he’s received … I really hope when he joins he has a great run for a championship and wins many races because I believe he deserves it as a person. He deserves it as a champion.”

>Rosenqvist, 34, started in IndyCar with Ganassi in 2019 and won one race over two seasons. He drove for McLaren from 2021-23 and then landed at Meyer Shank Racing, where he set a career best by finishing sixth in the standings in 2025 and went on to win the Indianapolis 500 in May.

>Dixon “was my guy” growing up, said O’Ward, who was barely 3 when Dixon debuted with Ganassi in Champ Car at Milwaukee in 2002.

>Then, O’Ward and Rosenqvist built a close friendship at McLaren that endured after Rosenqvist was let go, a far different situation from O’Ward’s relationship with Lundgaard.

>“Just to have a chance to learn from someone like Scott Dixon is, I would say, one of the luckiest positions anybody in racing can have because you’re learning from, in my opinion, one of the best the series has ever seen, somebody that not only embodies what I believe a great champion is in the car, but also somebody that embodies that outside of it,” O’Ward said.

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>“Obviously Felix, he’s had multiple experiences, not just outside of IndyCar, but in IndyCar as well and [is] somebody that was in the team three years ago. Coming back after being in another team, winning the Indy 500, having other experiences, all of that wealth of knowledge is going to be so valuable for me to keep on learning and also for our whole team.

>“I cannot wait to learn from people that I aspire to be like.”

class="related-link">More: Why Pato O'Ward says he wants to focus on IndyCar, Formula 1 dreams have waned

>Although Dixon was not available to reporters during the test for the Aug. 28-30 Snap-on doubleheader weekend, Rosenqvist was.

>While Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan told Fox Sports he was eager to add two drivers who have a good chance to win Indy in 2027, Rosenqvist said he saw his move as more of a long play.

>IndyCar intends to debut a new car in 2028. Rosenqvist has a reputation as someone who could be helpful in development, just like Dixon.

>McLaren also is working toward joining the World Endurance Championship in 2027. Such a project could provide opportunities for an IndyCar driver in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, should schedules permit or after an open-wheel career.

>Rosenqvist – who in two months has welcomed his first child, won Indy, had his wisdom teeth pulled and found a new ride – said the impending change has him feeling awkward. His first goal, he said, is to win more races with Meyer Shank.

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>Still, Rosenqvist is eager to see the 2027 McLaren lineup in action.

>“There’s a lot of experience, with Pato being the youngest of us,” he said. “He’s obviously been with McLaren for pretty much his whole career.

>“Everyone’s good. I think it’s more about the dynamic and having the right man for the right car, basically. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

>Joining a close friend could be icing on the cake.

>“At the end of the day, you’re spending more time with your teammates than your family, so you better make it worthwhile,” Rosenqvist said. “And sometimes it has to be forced and sometimes it’s natural, but I always at least try to enjoy my time with my teammates.

>“Scott has been [a friend. They’re] two that are really, really stand out in terms of being enjoyable to work with for sure.”

>Palou also will be getting a new teammate, which has been public knowledge since Dixon’s coming departure was announced July 2, before the most recent race weekend.

>Palou doesn’t expect to have any input into the decision. The most important factors, he said, are that whoever drives Ganassi’s No. 9 car is fast enough to push him and the team culture stays the same.

>“I’ve had a little bit of everything throughout my career of having very close friends or having some teammates where there’s friction,” Palou said. “Hopefully there’s no friction.

>“Even if you get beat by your teammate at the end of the day, you have all the [same] tools as your teammate to try and make the same [result] or try and rebound and do the same next weekend.”

>This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Pato O'Ward roasts critics of his future IndyCar teammate Scott Dixon