Pat O’Ward kept his rating on this year’s Indianapolis 500 and described the race as “boring” and “junk.”
The 109th edition of the Indy 500 featured 14 different leaders, linking the third on the list in the 2013 and 2023 races.
The race has been actively evaluated by the audience in general, but since its introduction last July, there has been growing dissatisfaction about the impact of IndyCar’s hybrid system on the quality of races.
McLaren driver O’ward was not impressed by the lack of action, especially after a 2024 nail biting finish when Pensuke’s Joseph’s New Garden stole a victory from him on the final lap.
“I’m not going to band-aid this, this was the worst Indy 500 I’ve ever been to,” O’ward said. “What a boring race. What a crap. What a crap. What a crap. A pathetic reboot.
“I feel bad about the fans being sold out. Everyone here wanted to see the finish like last year. But no, they’re looking at the final spot and the leader just gets cold there.”
The Indy 500 eventually became a scrap of two horses between Alex Palou and Marcus Erickson, with David Marcus and O’ward also sitting on the wings, hoping for an opportunity to attack.
Chip Ganassi star Alex Paloo jumped over the inside of Marcus Erickson to grab the lead, leaving only a few dozen laps left, and Andretti Driver lost the decision to keep the door open.
O’ward said 2022 winner Erixon “suffocated” in his battle with Palou, preventing the race from descending the wire.
“It’s a pretty crap race,” he told Fox. “It was just a bit of a sucking that came down to the switcher at the final position of the race, and Ericson actually choked up there and just a bit of Palou, he had to pedal it out there.
“Everyone here would have wanted to see it.”
Starting from the front row and leading in a short time, Oudward’s race unraveled following an inadequate reopening and dropped him outside the top ten.
He returned to competition, first classified as fourth. However, the post-race penalty handed over to Erickson for a technical violation promoted O’Ward to the final spot on the third podium.
Despite the outcome, the 25-year-old expressed his frustration with the standards of driving on an IndyCar.
“I feel there is a lot of inexperienced at the front of the reboots. I think some of those reboots are pathetic,” he said.
“These were not at the level (of a reboot) that you should see on the Indy 500.”
“You’re playing a coin flip for the lane of your choice,” he added.
“If anyone in front of you is having problems or going to touch on them. Probably the worst indy 500 I’ve been involved in.
“But we fought hard. We might get up at the final pit stop and give us a little chance. I think those rappers really helped our leaders.