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Since joining Chip Ganassi Racing six seasons ago, Spanish driver Àlex Palou has proven to be a generational talent, quickly working his way through the INDYCAR record books.
For that, Palou has been given a multi-year contract extension on his current deal that runs through the 2027 season. The extension was completed after this week’s two-day Indianapolis 500 test. Ganassi never discloses contract terms.
The award capped a celebratory week for Palou, who drove into Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the defending Indy 500 winner to test and saw a bigger banner of himself chugging the traditional winner’s milk. It’s the main banner as you enter the speedway — key location he’d seen reserved for rival drivers the previous six years.
“I took a picture as I drove by and sent it to my parents,” Palou said.
Palou has won four INDYCAR championships in five years, including the past three consecutive titles. He won eight times last season, including the 500, as he has flourished in INDYCAR since joining Ganassi in 2021.
Ahead of the Long Beach Grand Prix two weeks ago, former Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi was asked if anything had surprised him through the first quarter of the season. His response was immediate: “Yes, that Alex has only won two races. And is not the points leader.”
Palou responded by winning Long Beach to give him three wins through five races this year and regain first place in the championship.
“It’s unbelievable, actually 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 or so because once again he’s gone out and won three out of five races. I mean [Kyle] Kirkwood’s average finish is like three-point-something and he doesn’t lead the championship, which is insane.
“So that’s something that I absolutely, like, how is he doing week in, week out? Well, that’s one, he qualifies well. Two is that he executes in the race, and three is the pit stops, you know, top-notch, there’s no mistakes in there. And he’s fast. So that’s what you need when you go out there.”
His 22 career wins through 103 starts ranks fifth in 121 years of INDYCAR history. Sebastien Bourdais won 31 times in that span in the diluted Champ Car era; AJ Foyt won 30, Mario Andretti 27 and Ralph DePalma 26.
Palou’s four titles already match Andretti and Bourdais, and in the post-World War II era, Palou’s 61 top-five finishes in his 103 starts trailed only Andretti, who had 64.
Dario Franchitti, a four-time INDYCAR champion and three-time Indy 500 winner, is now a driver trainer and consultant for Ganassi. He believes there has not been such a dominant driver in the series since Alex Zanardi, who won 12 races and back-to-back titles for Ganassi in 1997 and 1998.
“Winning a championship is one thing, but then the ones after that, it gets progressively harder,” Franchitti said. “Just to see what he’s done, and at this early point in his career, it’s something very special. And the level of dominance, that’s the icing on the cake.
“You feel bad for the others. I’ve said to him a number of times, ‘I would have hated to race against you.’ He’s the complete package.”
At Long Beach last month, rival driver Pato O’Ward admitted his McLaren team has not closed the gap on Palou and the No.10 Ganassi team at all.
“The guy goes in every weekend to be able to win. Honestly, it’s impressive to watch,” O’Ward said. “The gap is as big as it’s been and we’re working hard to try to be at the level he is to be able to win every race, but we haven’t.”
Connor Daly believes the dominance is a combination of Palou’s flawless performances and the strength of his racing team.
“Alex is very good, but that team, when they’re called upon, they don’t make mistakes, and that’s what’s so important about this game,” Daly said. “Everything has to be, everyone has to be on the same page, and he is without a doubt one of the best drivers in the world right now.”
Report from the Associated Press.
