Alex Palou is now a four-time IndyCar Series champion, claiming his latest title with two races still left in the season.
It makes for the most dominant year yet for the Spanish driver, with eight race victories out of the 15 rounds completed, plus three additional podiums.
With the rounds remaining, Palou’s performance in his Honda-powered Chip Ganassi Racing car could see him tie with AJ Foyt and Al Unser Sr. for the most wins in an IndyCar championship.
Such a crushing display throughout 2025 has seen many questioning – and perhaps hoping – that Palou might consider making the switch to Formula One.
The origins of greatness
Born in Barcelona, Spain, Palou’s motorsport career began with karting, and saw him win six national and international titles between 2005 and 2013.
His progression through the European single-seater ladder culminated with the FIA Formula Three European Championship in 2018.
Although Palou did not claim any titles in junior European competition, a switch to racing in Japan better demonstrated his talent, with a third-place finish in the 2019 Super Formula championship.
This impressed enough people to put him on a pathway towards top-level single-seater racing, moving to IndyCar with Dale Coyne Racing in 2020.
Living the American Dream
Palou’s first year in IndyCar, marred by the impact of the pandemic, was unremarkable, bar a podium at Road America. However, the following 2021 season saw him move to Chip Ganassi Racing, followed by three race wins and his first IndyCar Drivers’ Championship.
Titles in 2022 and 2023, along with this year’s victory, mean Palou is tied with IndyCar legends such as Mario Andretti and Dario Franchitti on four championships.
Winning the 2025 Indianapolis 500, Palou’s first victory on an oval track, is likely to be an even greater prize to the Spaniard than another championship.
Having achieved all this IndyCar success, and still being only 28 years old, naturally leads to the question of whether Palou would consider racing in Formula One. The disappointing reality for IndyCar fans tired of seeing Palou win, though, is that a switch to F1 seems unlikely.
Single-track focus
In 2022, Palou had the chance to try an older McLaren Formula One car in testing, followed by an outing in free practice for the 2022 United States Grand Prix.
McLaren was impressed enough to sign the Spanish driver to its Driver Development Program in 2023, while also naming him its F1 reserve driver.
An ensuing legal battle ultimately saw Palou breach his contract to remain with Chip Ganassi, having lost faith that McLaren would ever make him its first choice for Formula One.
As a result, Palou potentially missed his prime opportunity to take an F1 seat. He now finds himself likely too expensive for smaller teams, and too unproven for race-winning F1 outfits to gamble on.
“Just scratching the surface”
Perhaps the bigger question is why Palou would want to swap his current IndyCar dominance for F1. Given his relatively young age, Palou could potentially beat AJ Foyt’s record of seven IndyCar championships, and add more Indy 500 wins to his name
The best indication may come from Chip Ganassi himself, owner of Chip Ganassi Racing. Following Palou’s latest victory, he said: “I’ve never seen a guy work so quietly and diligently at his craft as this guy. I said in the beginning of the year that we’re just scratching the surface of his talent.
“I still think he’s got more in his gas tank for this season, and he’s got more in his tank for coming seasons.”
Sorry, IndyCar fans. On reflection, it seems the era of Alex Palou’s dominance is just getting started.
ALSO READ:
Wild 1,250 hp Corvette ZR1X to cost $207,395
Eccentrica restomod lets the Lamborghini Diablo off the leash
Falling in love again: driving the classic Citroens my dad owned
