Pato O'Ward heads into the busiest month of the IndyCar season carrying a 69-point championship deficit to Alex Palou, and the Mexican has delivered a blunt verdict on what is wrong with his Arrow McLaren Chevrolet ahead of Saturday's Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
O'Ward came home fifth at the Long Beach Grand Prix last month - his fourth top-five in five races and the 52nd of his career - but the consistency mask is now slipping after Palou's runaway start. The Spaniard has won three of the opening five rounds, including a dominant Long Beach victory, leaving Kyle Kirkwood second in the standings and O'Ward third, 52 points behind the Andretti driver and 69 behind the leader.
"We don't have enough right now to take it to the guys that are charging forward in the championship," O'Ward said. "Long Beach was just another weekend to close out a top five, but we need to start fighting for podiums and wins. We seem to be full of these fifth places this year."
That frustration extends beyond the result sheet. Long Beach exposed an issue Arrow McLaren has been chipping away at all year - a late-stint pace shortfall that put O'Ward, who started fourth, on the back foot the moment the tyres began to slide.
"I think we overexecuted in qualifying, but in the race we just didn't have the pace," O'Ward said. "I don't know what to tell you: It's been a Honda show. We're missing something. We're missing _something_."
The Chevrolet camp's frustrations are not just about engine output. Honda has built a clear edge in tyre management and quick-stint pace at street and natural-terrain road courses, and Palou has converted that to a near-flawless run. O'Ward's praise for the defending series and Indy 500 champion was unguarded.
"Alex Palou is on fire still. The guy is strong everywhere," O'Ward said. "Honestly, it's impressive to see."
If there is a comfort, it is the venue. O'Ward finished second at last year's Sonsio Grand Prix and has three podiums in his last four IMS road course starts. Saturday's 85-lap race opens the Speedway's full month-of-May calendar, with Indy 500 practice starting May 12, qualifying weekend on May 16-17 and the 110th 500 on May 24. Two-time 500 winner Josef Newgarden, returning from a tough 2025 with AJ Foyt Racing, was clear about treating the road course as merely a stepping stone.
"This is just the first step towards coming back here next month and trying to win another Indianapolis 500," Newgarden said after the open test on April 28-29.
For O'Ward and Arrow McLaren, the same logic does not quite apply. With Palou pulling away on the championship board, the Sonsio Grand Prix is no longer just a stepping stone to the 500 - it is the next chance to find the missing piece, before the speeds and stakes of the world's biggest oval race make that gap impossible to close.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/pato-oward-sonsio-grand-prix-2026-palou-honda-arrow-mclaren-indycar-may). Visit for full coverage.*
