"He's 20 years old": Pato O'Ward doubles down on Nolan Siegel's crucial mistake that helped Kyle Kirkwood win at WWTR

Pato O'Ward expressed his displeasure with teammate Nolan Siegel's inexperience, potentially costing him the race win to Kyle Kirkwood at IndyCar's Bommarito Automotive Group 500. On the final restart of the race in lap 206 of 260, Siegel, a lapped car, was in P2, with O'Ward behind him and Kirkwood in P4.

Instead of letting his teammate, who was in victory contention, get a clear run for the lead in Turn 1, Siegel fought to unlap himself. In doing so, he went three-wide with O'Ward in the middle and Kirkwood on the high line. Pato O'Ward had no choice but to back out to avoid a crash.

That helped Kirkwood go by and secure P2 behind race leader Scott Dixon. O'Ward was massively disappointed in his rookie teammate. In the post-race interview, he said:

"In that last restart, I think good ol' Nolan was sleeping a little bit."

The Arrow McLaren driver provided a more detailed explanation of the situation. In an appearance on Conor Daly's podcast, Speed Street, O'Ward spoke about his post-race interaction with Siegel. He said:

"I didn't want to say too much online or on the broadcast because you know, he's (Nolan) 20 years old. It's his first full season in IndyCar (but) like he's got some experience already. What I told him is, 'Look, man, I know you didn't do that on purpose. I know you're trying to unlap yourself.'

"If that's the first restart of the race, I get (you're) trying to unlap yourself. But it's the last restart (and) your teammate is trying to win the race. It's important to be aware that if you didn't have a great jump, the chances are that people behind you are on you or beside you."

O'Ward acknowledged that his rookie teammate already had a 'messy' night before that pivotal moment. Siegel had a separate incident with Scott McLaughlin, where he nearly ran the Penske driver, who was leading the race, off the track in an attempt not to get lapped.

IndyCar gave him a drive-through penalty, which drew a profanity-laden team radio rant from Siegel. O'Ward continued, saying:

"I think it was just a combination of just having a very messy night, which then led to this very important moment. And I just think at that point, he just didn't know what to do. I don't think it's an opinion, it's a fact. He definitely made that a lot harder for us going into Turn 1."

In the wake of Siegel's team radio message targeted at McLaughlin and Team Penske, Arrow McLaren reprimanded him. The team issued an official statement condemning the incident, and the 20-year-old apologized via an Instagram story.

Pato O'Ward feels he's on the cusp of kicking off a winning run to battle Alex Palou for the 2025 IndyCar title

NTT Indy Car Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 - Source: Getty

Alex Palou began the 2025 IndyCar season with a generational run. He won five of the first six races, including a breakthrough Indy 500 win. Pato O'Ward sits second in the standings, 73 points behind the reigning champ.

After the eighth race of the season at WWTR, O'Ward, who finished on the podium, spoke about the championship battle.

"The guy has been on a run. He has five wins or something. I've got zero wins," the No. 5 Arrow McLaren driver said via ASAP Sports. "I've just got a handful of podiums. We need to start racking up some wins, and that'll make that points count come down a lot faster than what you're seeing now.

"I feel like we're just sitting at bay right there just waiting for our run to come, so hopefully that does come to life, and yeah, I think it's going to be a tight end to the championship."

Palou secured a P8 finish at WWTR, which helped both Pato O'Ward and Kyle Kirkwood to close the gap in the standings.