O'Ward conquers Toronto

Mexican Pato O'Ward (Arrow McLaren) triumphed yesterday Sunday in Toronto after starting from tenth place and took advantage of the difficulties of Spaniard Álex Palou (Chip Ganassi), who finished in 12th place after being hampered by a yellow flag, to put pressure on him in the fight for the IndyCar championship.

Palou, a three-time IndyCar champion and winner of seven of the season's 12 races, started from second on the grid, but his bad luck in pitting just before a caution on lap 37 took him out of contention for the win.

Palou remains at the top of the standings with 536 points, but O'Ward closed the gap by 30 points with his victory and is now 99 points behind. Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti) is in third place, 173 points behind.

O'Ward redeemed himself after a difficult Saturday in qualifying and took the win on the Toronto street circuit ahead of Dutchman Rinus Veekay (Dale Coyne) and Kyffin Simpson (Chip Ganassi).

The Mexican driver, second in the championship standings, celebrated his second victory in the last three races.

It was O'Ward's second of the year and the ninth of his 102-race IndyCar career.

And Palou, who remains in a good position to win his fourth title, had everything in his favor to triumph in Toronto.

He led the race, but his strategy was flawed. He stopped just before the yellow flag was brought out on the track, causing him to lose positions and get stuck in slower car traffic.

The Catalan dropped to fifteenth place and, despite climbing back to twelfth, was unable to successfully resolve a difficult Sunday.

“I thought that strategy would give us the best chance to win. We were going strong, we wanted to be in front. But honestly, that can happen. (…) It wasn't our day,” Palou said.

The next race of the championship will be on a circuit that appears to be favorable for Palou, Laguna Seca.