O’Ward and I are here to meet with Cuevas, who has designed a custom look for the driver to wear at his appearance at the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix, taking place the Friday this story publishes. This particular Formula 1 event represents a unique moment for Team McLaren, thanks to O’Ward, who, in Mexico, arguably enjoys more fame and following than his mainline teammates. He hails from Monterrey, in the country’s north (though his Irish surname comes from a great-grandfather), and has become something of a local automotive rockstar: good looks, quick reflexes, all speed—he did, after all, finish second in the 2025 IndyCar standings. Cuevas, meanwhile, is from Michoacán, west of Mexico City. Their collaboration is a nod to their shared national heritage, O’Ward’s personal interests, and Cuevas’ distinct, surreal style.
We’ve crossed the low creek bridge and driven up the dirt road to Cuevas’s studio. “I can’t wait, I haven’t seen final pictures yet,” says O’Ward. We walk through the door and find Cuevas, his wife Ofelia Vasquez, and an assistant at work. A tequila bar is on the right. Adorned guitars and various scissors hang on the walls, as do photos of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and James Dean, all of whom Cuevas has dressed in his decades-long career.
From a polychrome rack surfaces O’Ward’s bespoke jacket: a high-collared, straight-lapel piece that sits somewhere on the sartorial spectrum between a racing kit and a sport coat. Embroidered across it is a panoply of motifs—checkered flags, bougainvillea, dice and cards (O’Ward loves Las Vegas), a Mexican golden eagle spreading its wings across the shoulder blades, and an enigmatic female face at the shoulder.
“Who is she?” I ask Cuevas, pointing to the visage.
“Who knows?” He answers.
He and O’Ward converse in Spanish. A snippet of their conversation that I can understand (minimally) jumps out:
“What’s been your favorite project?” O’Ward asks.
“The next one,” Cuevas answers.
“Ah, OK,” says O’Ward. “Always onto the next.”
“Of course,” says Cuevas. “I only sketch each thing once, and then I never see it again in my life.”
Photo: Nick Remsen
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