Alex Palou drives a McLaren during free practice at the US GP in Texas.

mclaren use indycar stars Alex Palou and Pato Oward took part in a Formula 1 free practice session, the Woking team announced this Friday. 2021 IndyCar his reigning champion Palou will drive in the first free practice session next Friday. Circuit of the Americas, TexasThe Catalan will drive Daniel Ricciardo’s car in a 60-minute session.

“I’m very excited to be making my F1 weekend debut,” Palou said. “It’s great to be able to drive in America in front of fans who may have seen me race in IndyCar,” he added.

O’Ward will drive Lando Norris’ car in the first practice session of the season finale in Abu Dhabi. The Mexican took part in the young driver’s test at McLaren’s track last December.

Palou and O’Ward have tested McLaren’s F1 car twice since the IndyCar season ended last month, in Barcelona and Austria. “Alex and Pato were impressed with the recent tests,” said McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl. “It’s a great opportunity for teams to showcase their skills on the global Formula 1 stage, where the focus is not on final lap times, but on getting ready for the race weekend.”

McLaren tried to bring in Palou, who had signed with the team, but ultimately kept his existing contract with Chip Ganassi Racing. Ganassi had an option in Palou for 2023, which he exercised, but he was unable to reach a purchase deal with McLaren when Palou said he was leaving Ganassi. He has now ended his contract with Ganassi and will be allowed to test his F1 car at McLaren, officially joining McLaren in 2024.