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Since joining Chip Ganassi Racing six seasons ago, Spanish driver Àlex Palou has proven to be a generational talent who is quickly making his way into the INDYCAR record books.
To that end, Palou earned a multi-year contract extension on his current deal that runs through the 2027 season. The extension was finalized after this week’s two-day Indianapolis 500 test. Ganassi never publicly reveals the terms of the contract.
The reward capped a week of celebration for Palou, who arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the defending Indy 500 winner for testing and saw a huge banner of himself drinking the traditional winner’s milk. It is the main sign as you enter the track, a key spot that I had seen reserved for rival drivers for the previous six years.
“I took a picture when I was passing by and sent it to my parents,” Palou said.
Palou has won four INDYCAR championships in five years, including the last three consecutive titles. He won eight times last season, including the 500 meters, and has flourished in INDYCAR since joining Ganassi in 2021.
Before the Long Beach Grand Prix two weeks ago, former Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi was asked if anything had surprised him during the first quarter of the season. His response was immediate: “Yes, Alex has only won two races. And he is not the points leader.”
Palou responded by winning Long Beach to give him three wins in five races this year and regain first place in the championship standings.
“It’s amazing, really amazing,” said rival driver Will Power, a two-time INDYCAR champion and Indianapolis 500 winner. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for the last week because, once again, he went out and won three of five races. I mean [Kyle] Kirkwood’s average finish is three and a bit points, and they don’t lead the championship, which is crazy.
“So it’s something that I’m absolutely, like, how is he doing week to week? Well, it’s one, he’s qualifying well. The second is that he executes in the race and the third is the pit stops, you know, top notch, there are no mistakes there. And he’s fast. So that’s what it takes when you drive there.”
His 22 career wins in 103 starts rank fifth in INDYCAR’s 121-year history. Sebastien Bourdais won 31 times in that span in the watered-down era of Champ Car; AJ Foyt won 30, Mario Andretti 27 and Ralph DePalma 26.
Palou’s four titles already tie Andretti and Bourdais, and in the post-World War II era, Palou’s 61 top-five finishes in his 103 starts trail only Andretti, who had 64.
Dario Franchitti, a four-time INDYCAR champion and three-time Indy 500 winner, is now a driver coach and consultant for Ganassi. He believes there hasn’t been such a dominant driver in the series since Alex Zanardi, who won 12 races and consecutive titles for Ganassi in 1997 and 1998.
“Winning a championship is one thing, but the next ones get more and more difficult,” Franchitti said. “Just seeing what he’s done, and at this early stage in his career, is something very special. And the level of dominance, that’s the icing on the cake.
“You feel sorry for everyone else. I’ve told him several times, ‘I would have hated to compete against you.’ He’s the total package.”
In Long Beach last month, rival driver Pato O’Ward admitted that his McLaren team had not closed the gap on Palou and the No. 10 Ganassi team.
“The guy comes in every weekend being able to win. Honestly, it’s awesome to see,” O’Ward said. “The gap is as big as ever and we are working hard to try to be at the level he is at so we can win all the races, but we don’t have it.”
Connor Daly believes the dominance is a combination of Palou’s impeccable performances and the strength of his racing team.
“Alex is very good, but that team, when called, doesn’t make mistakes and that’s the important thing about this game,” Daly said. “Everything has to be like that, everyone has to be on the same page and he is, without a doubt, one of the best drivers in the world at the moment.”
Information from The Associated Press.
