Spain's Alex Palou and Mexico's Pato O'Ward are the most exciting talents in Indycar at the moment and both drivers are contracted by McLaren as reserve drivers for the Formula One team. And both drivers are keen to capitalise on their efforts in the North American series with a move to the top class of motorsport.

With five Grands Prix behind us this season, the pressure on Formula One's rookie drivers is already beginning to mount. Nyck de Vries ' lack of pace so far this season, coupled with his numerous accidents, has already prompted Helmut Marko to raise his voice and call for an improvement in the level of performance delivered by the 28-year-old Dutch rookie for the Spanish Grand Prix. Team-mate Yuki Tsunoda has been driving at a very high level, which puts the Dutchman under even more pressure.

American driver Logan Sargeant has shown he has the speed, unlike de Vries, however, he has not been able to deliver consistent performances over a full weekend, making several mistakes that have prevented him from performing at a similar level to his teammate Alex Albon. Sargeant has the support of team principal James Vowles, who has said of the young American that he just needs to put together a consistent weekend.

Formula One world waits for no one

The pinnacle of motorsport can often seem cruel, however, it must be remembered that it is a high-performance sport, and a driver's lack of performance can be the difference between winning a title, or earning a bigger share of the prize money handed out to teams at the end of the season, the amount of which varies depending on the team's position in the Constructors' Championship table.

Palou or Duck from Indycar to Formula One?

Palou demonstrated his capabilities at the wheel of a Formula One car in his first free practice session with the McLaren team at last year's Austin Grand Prix, managing to get within three tenths of Lando Norris, using the same tyre compound as the Briton.

Pato, in turn, has also impressed every time he has been given the opportunity to drive a McLaren F1 car in anger. He has done so in Abu Dhabi, Catalunya and Austria. At the latter track the driver raised a few eyebrows both in the garage and in the Woking team's management.

Last year there was a high-profile case where AlphaTauri vehemently wanted to put Colton Herta in the seat, the only condition under which they would let Pierre Gasly leave for the Alpine team. However, Herta did not have enough points on his superlicence to make the switch, which ultimately led to the team securing the services of Nyck de Vries. So it is not completely impossible that a top team would want the services of either the Spaniard or the Mexican.

Good weekend in Monaco for both rookies

This weekend, during the most high-pressure qualifying session of the year, which does not allow for a single mistake, both Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant have achieved their best Saturday results of the current campaign so far. It remains to be seen whether they will be able to capitalise on this upturn in performance at tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix. Palou and O'Ward will no doubt be keeping a close eye on the development of the rookie drivers in Formula One to take advantage of any opportunities they have to make the leap to the pinnacle of motorsport.