Although O’Ward, 24, failed to win last season, he still managed to capture a career-high seven podiums on the year, along with 14 top 10s through 17 rounds to finish fourth in the championship standings. It marked the third consecutive season he was the highest ranked driver not affiliated with Chip Ganassi Racing or Team Penske.
Ward, who joined the organisation in July 2022 after the previous four years at Penske that included engineering Josef Newgarden to the 2019 title, shared what he saw out of O’Ward last season.
“Yeah, first, I think Pato had a very strong year and a year of personal growth,” Ward told Autosport. “I loved his consistency. I loved his mental approach. He was really a joy to work with. I think everyone's kind of seen that in him. He's pushing the team to be better, and we need that.
“I think there's room for another step for him again to really to get top, top level. He's got all the talent. I just see a great focus out of him right now.”
The addition of David Malukas, who replaces Felix Rosenqvist after the previous two years with Dale Coyne Racing, alongside Alexander Rossi and O’Ward has Ward full of anticipation.
“I'm excited with the whole lineup going into next year,” Ward said. “What I would say in terms of what we need, we were just missing a little bit in race day performance. We've been working pretty hard on our side and working with Chevy, which is an awesome partner, to find that step to get us up on the top step next year.
Source: Autosport