Arrow McLaren driver Pato O'Ward has asked IndyCar for a revolutionary change to its 2027 schedule with a sweet spot for an inaugural Mexico City race. His comments come in the aftermath of IndyCar failing to secure a race in Mexico, his home country, for 2026.Before the 2025 season began, Mark Miles, CEO of Penske Entertainment, which owns the premier American open-wheel racing series, revealed that they had made significant progress toward adding a race in Mexico to its 2026 schedule. Over the course of the season, Pato O'Ward, who was closely involved in the talks between IndyCar and the Mexico City race promoters, kept highlighting that IndyCar was very close to confirming a deal. Unfortunately, it all came undone earlier this month, with IndyCar announcing that Mexico wouldn't feature on its 2026 racing calendar. Mark Miles cited a schedule conflict with the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the main reason.O'Ward recently divulged more details on the scenario, wherein the Mexico City race promoters had offered suboptimal dates for the IndyCar race. "The dates sucked. They were horrendous. They were the worst dates ever. The dates in April were the worst dates they could've given. The dates in July and then August-ish still suck because everyone is gone on vacation," the Arrow McLaren driver said on the StickersAndSendIt podcast.Instead, the 26-year-old suggested that the best slot for the race in his native country would be as IndyCar's 2027 season-opener."So what truly needs to happen is, 2027, start the year in Mexico. That's where we should be starting, at the end of February. The weather is phenomenal, not so much rain. Might be a little bit chilly (but) the engines love that. Done. Come on," O'Ward added.Pato O'Ward has been urging IndyCar for a race in Mexico since 2021. However, the series has failed to deliver on that front, with the repetitive failures dating as far back as 2015. The last time IndyCar raced in the South American country was in 2007.IndyCar recently unveiled its 2026 schedule, which included three new races in Phoenix, Arlington, and Markham.Pato O'Ward can't wait for more FOX-IndyCar magic in 2026Pato O'Ward speaks during the NTT INDYCAR Series Season Awards - Source: GettyPato O'Ward shared a heartfelt message for IndyCar and its new media partner, FOX, at the 2025 Victory Lap Championship Celebration last week. FOX was instrumental in giving the racing series a bigger platform than NBC did until 2024, and also used ingenious marketing promos, including cross-promotions with the NFL, to amplify IndyCar's reach.O'Ward touched upon the partnership's success during the awards ceremony, saying (via IndyCar on YouTube):"You guys (IndyCar fans) are awesome. The Indy 500 was a sold-out event. Like Doug [Boles, IndyCar president] was saying, next year it will be even better. Congratulations to Roger [Penske, IndyCar owner], Penske Entertainment on a successful IndyCar season, on an amazing Indy 500. And obviously, our new partner FOX, who knows what they have got up their sleeve. They kept surprising us this year, so I'm excited to see what they've got in store."Pato O'Ward finished runner-up to Alex Palou in the championship. It was the Mexican driver's best season in IndyCar, and also Arrow McLaren's best-ever.