Though O’Ward, 24, didn’t put his No. 5 Chevrolet in Victory Lane, he nonetheless managed to seize a career-high seven podiums on the yr, together with 14 prime 10s via 17 rounds to complete fourth within the championship standings. It marked the third consecutive season he was the best ranked driver not affiliated with Chip Ganassi Racing or Staff Penske.
Ward, who joined the group in July 2022 after the earlier 4 years at Penske that included engineering Josef Newgarden to the 2019 title, shared what he noticed out of O’Ward final season.
“Yeah, first, I feel Pato had a really robust yr and a yr of private development,” Ward advised Motorsport.com.
“, I cherished his consistency. I cherished his psychological strategy. He was actually a pleasure to work with. I feel everybody’s sort of seen that in him. He is pushing the workforce to be higher, and we’d like that.
“I feel there’s room for one more step for him once more to essentially to get prime, prime stage. He is obtained all of the expertise, for positive. I simply see an incredible focus out of him proper now.”
The addition of David Malukas, who replaces Felix Rosenqvist after the earlier two years with Dale Coyne Racing, alongside Alexander Rossi, getting into his second season with Arrow Mclaren, and O’Ward, has Ward stuffed with anticipation.
“I am excited with the entire lineup going into subsequent yr,” Ward stated. “What I’d say when it comes to what we’d like, we have been simply lacking slightly bit in race day efficiency. We have been working fairly laborious on our facet and dealing with Chevy, which is an superior accomplice, to seek out that step to get us up on the highest step subsequent yr.
“It is slightly little bit of race day efficiency. I feel that we get a just a bit bit higher executing on race day we’ll be there. With out entering into too many specifics, I really feel fairly good with what we have coming right here.”
Photograph by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Pictures
Gavin Ward, Arrow McLaren
When pressed for particular areas of enchancment, Ward supplied a large smile and fun earlier than obliging.
“I feel we have to be higher on the gasoline financial system sport,” Ward stated. “I feel we obtained beat a number of instances by the Ganassis and gasoline technique. We’re all the things that we will do to maximise that.
“We need to be slightly higher in pit lane. We predict we are the third greatest workforce in pit lane. We need to be one of the best there; not far off. I feel it is doable, however we’re up in opposition to some actually robust rivals which were doing this for a very long time. And simply minimizing errors. I do not assume we had rather a lot, however we had a number of.
“The opposite space for the workforce basically, though I’d say the No. 5 automobile wasn’t on the brunt of that maybe as a lot as a few our different workforce vehicles, however now we have an actual deal with reliability.
“Enhancing our processes as a workforce to work with this three-car setup, extra individuals does require a bit extra course of. So, this offseason, that is been an enormous focus for us, buttoning up all our procedures. Frankly, I need all people to come back in right here day by day and assume, ‘What am I right here to do at this time?’ It is like, ‘Construct a greater race vehicles; how are we gonna try this?’ Throughout the board.”
