TV ratings have increased significantly in the last couple of years, and at-track attendance grew last season after so many races in 2020-including the marquee Indianapolis 500, which drew an average of 5.55 million viewers, the most since 2016-were held without fans in the stands (if races weren’t outright cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).Ī good part of the reason for the upward gains in the series has been due to young drivers such as O’Ward, Herta and defending champion Alex Palou. O’Ward made no bones about it, saying that the Ind圜ar series is “on a constant rise” in terms of attention and popularity. McLaren F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, left, looks on. Pato O’Ward, right, tested a Formula 1 car for McLaren at Abu Dhabi in December. Herta situation, one thing in particular struck me. Yet of all the things O’Ward said during the call, and while most of the reporters were focused on the O’Ward vs. There’s no question O’Ward was visibly uncomfortable answering several of the questions posed to him, particularly his status with Arrow McLaren SP, and whether he and his representatives are looking at other racing options after this season or next.Įqually as visibly uncomfortable was the other guest on the conference call, Arrow McLaren SP president Taylor Kiel, who like his driver, hemmed and hawed at times about what the future holds for O’Ward-or doesn’t-with his current team. Close to half of the 42-minute call with more than two dozen reporters centered not so much on the race but rather O’Ward’s apparent unhappiness that Arrow McLaren’s F1 parent team signed fellow Ind圜ar driver Colton Herta last week to be a test driver-with the potential possibility that Herta could eventually move to Formula 1 himself before or even if O’Ward ever does. Having won his first NTT Ind圜ar Series race last year at Texas Motor Speedway, Arrow McLaren SP driver Pato O’Ward was expecting to talk a lot about returning for this Sunday’s race there as its defending champion during Wednesday’s media teleconference.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |