Intro To Indy - Chip Ganassi Racing - Pt. 3 - Álex Palou

Moving on from Chip Ganassi Racing (and IndyCar)'s most tenured driver Scott Dixon and the #9 car, we have to the current Champion and the #10 car, Álex Palou.

Here is his photo from the IndyCar website.

Unlike the other multiple time champions currently racing alongside him, Álex is from Europe. His story is that of many current entrants in Formula 1. He started in karting at age six and progressed up.

In fact, Álex's story intertwines with several Formula 1 race winners, and even the current world champion Max Verstappen.

Like so many, he started up the ladder in KF3. 2011 was his big debut. His first year in the Euro Championship, the winner was Max Verstappen, the runner up Esteban Ocon. He also competed in the World Cup, where the winner in 2011 was Monaco's Charles Leclerc.

2012 saw him win the Euro series; in the Euro Championship series he came in second place to George Russell. Russell would repeat his win the following year, while Álex dropped to tenth.

Tracking with his champion counterpart in Verstappen, he stepped up to F3/F4 in 2014, depending on where he could get entry. Álex found some success on this level, a second and a third place finish in Spanish F3 and then the Eurocup.

2015 saw him step up to GP3. That year's winner was Esteban Ocon, and third place was Max Verstappen. Verstappen then skipped F2 to graduate to F1 in 2016.

I keep mentioning Verstappen because he is Palou's equivalent in F1.

In 2016 Álex competed in GP3 again, this time losing out to Charles Leclerc.

Unlike many Europeans, Álex took a chance and jumped to Japan in 2017, where he saw a strong performance in Japanese F3. He also attempted F2 this year, but not with great success.

By 2019 Álex saw the benefit of going where he was successful and returned to Japan. This time, he competed in Super Formula. To compare Super Formula to IndyCar or F1, it's somewhat of a step down from them but a step up from their feeder series, IndyNXT or F2. In 2019, Super Formula began to use Dallara chassis, which are the same chassis supplier used solely in IndyCar.

Palou came third in his rookie year, and tested with Dale Coyne Racing.

In 2020, Álex ended up in the United States, competing with DCR in the abbreviated IndyCar season. His performance was middling, which makes sense considering DCR isn't a top team.

But a top team came calling, and he transitioned to CGR's #10 car in 2021.

He won his first race with CGR, the opening round of 2021.

Then he won the title.

In fact, there were only four races Álex wasn't in the top ten for, with three wins in the longer 2021 season.

Hopefully by now you see the parallels between Palou and Verstappen.

2022 is where things get a little dicey. Like Verstappen, Álex is not without his own controversies, albeit a little bit more palatable than Verstappen's.

To simplify what happened, Álex signed a contract with McLaren's Zak Brown in order to have the opportunity to drive for their team. Unlike CGR, McLaren has a F1 arm. CGR wasn't having it, and after some back and forth, Álex was stated to drive for CGR until 2024.

However, he told Zak Brown he had no intention of fulfilling his contract with McLaren as he was 'too old to be waiting around for someone to get hurt' to step aside in their Formula 1 unit. His goal with McLaren was always to use it as a stepping stone to Formula 1, never to be its IndyCar champion.

This all came after McLaren's F1 unit had snaked away driver Oscar Piastri from Alpine in what came to be known as TweetGate.

However, Álex's contract was breached, unlike Oscar's, and he is still deeply embroiled in the lawsuit put forward by McLaren due to his breach of contract.

It should be no surprise that Álex's dream was Formula 1. I would say is, but I'm not quite sure if that's accurate anymore. The obvious path - which would be McLaren IndyCar to McLaren F1 - is destroyed beyond compare. If somehow Álex was to get the McLaren F1 investors interested after this headache, he'd have to step over the current face of their IndyCar operation Pato O'Ward to do so.

While Álex is a three time champion, Pato is the rockstar of the sport. There are already two Spaniards in Formula 1 - Alonso at Aston Martin, Sainz at Williams - and no Mexicans. Pato would not only bring IndyCar fans who feel that the elitism of F1 is something that leaves a bad taste in their mouths, but would bring the Mexican fans with him, along with a lot of American fans as well.

He's also just genuinely - there. On social media, on camera, getting attention however he can. O'Ward goes out into the communities IndyCar races in, he has free meet and greets. This past fall, KitKat held a meet and greet for free in Mexico City and O'Ward fans took up three tiers of the mall.

When I personally went to the Las Vegas Grand Prix, O'Ward was there. People who didn't even know the first thing about IndyCar were talking about Pato.

Álex, by contrast, doesn't do as much press. I wouldn't call him reserved, but he has the same privileges that Verstappen does. He's the winner, going for another consecutive championship, and therefore there is naturally attention on him.

There is a new, secondary path with competitors Andretti Global entering F1 in 2026 as Cadillac. But why would they want to tangle with someone deep in a legal struggle, who works for a competitor, who also said he doesn't want to wait? Though Álex meant in McLaren's current outfit, it could also be interpreted as waiting for the car to be good. Cadillac is going to be a complete enigma, and they need someone who is willing to be patient while they figure it out. Andretti/Cadillac also already have their own driver with his own F1 dream.

He's also a new father. IndyCar, as I stated in my piece about Will Buxton, is a lot more of a family focused series. Every race is on the same continent, the time difference at maximum three hours, and he's able to see his baby and wife more frequently. There's actually a few cute photos of him walking around with his daughter last year.

The final nail in the F1 coffin for now is also where he races. CGR has made it clear they're keeping him. CGR already lost one strong performer to Formula 1 - their first CART Champion & first 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya.

Chip likes winners. Álex wins. Why would he let Álex go?

I am also someone who takes a person at face value when I do not know them. Álex stated in an interview last year that he'd rather have his titles than no F1 victories at all.

But I've totally digressed. 2023 and 2024 saw him stay with CGR and win back to back titles with them. He'll remain in the #10 car for 2025, looking for a threepeat with titles, like Newgarden at the 500.

2025 brings a lot of challenges to Álex. He could bring a fourth title in, a record third in a row. He could finally win the Indy 500.

An interesting point in the 2024 season which can bleed over involves the big change in IndyCar during 2024. Álex has not won a race since the introduction of the hybrid engine at Mid-Ohio last year.

No Chip Ganassi car has.

I think a general overview of Álex if you choose him is obvious from his history. He is a hard worker that took an unusual path to IndyCar. He's incredibly resourceful; he won the title by thirty points last year having won only two races for points. But every point counts, every possible lap counts, and Álex will be out there running all of them.

He has never DNFed in IndyCar.

Like his counterpart Verstappen he can sometimes be perceived in an unflattering manner. While I think Verstappen merits some of the criticism, I see Álex more in line with Russell in the fact that he is simply being himself and people can perceive him in however way he pleases. Unlike Russell, he's the Champion and the press are a little more flattering towards the champion in any series.

Being a Palou fan would be an adventure, and not one for the faint of heart. His car will blow on the formation lap but he'll come back by the end.

All in all, he's an interesting driver, and you'll never, ever be bored.

Now, the juniormost driver for CGR, Kyffin Simpson.