Alex Palou’s dominance of the 2025 IndyCar season continued unabated at Road America, where the Spaniard delivered a drive that claimed him his sixth victory from nine races in what he described as a “crazy race” filled with incidents.
Early struggles
Starting second after a qualifying session that saw rookie Louis Foster claim his maiden pole position, Palou faced an uphill battle from the off as he was P7 at the end of the opening lap as he got shuffled out on the harder tyre from turn 1 all the way down to turn 6.
There was also strategic decisions that left him questioning his team’s approach. Three different strategies were at play thanks to a series of cautions in the first half of the race.
“It was tough. It was a crazy race. I don’t know about how it looked from the outside, but from inside, it just felt like there was a lot going on. Lots of yellows, obviously, that were shaking how we were looking. We were looking really bad at the beginning, then really good, then terrible, then really good. It was tough to be up there. But yeah, we just had to stay focused on battling against the people that were on our strategy,” Palou reflected after the victory.
The race’s turning point came during a crucial caution period when Palou and his strategist Barry Wanser made what initially appeared to be a controversial decision. Leading the race at the time, the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda came to the pits whilst others stayed out, a move that temporarily frustrated the championship leader.
Lundgaard, Rosenqvist and Kirkwood carried on.
“I didn’t agree with Barry’s strategy call”
Palou was quick to mention his disagreement with Barry Wanser. However, it turned out to be the perfect call as he had enough fuel to complete the final two stints without needing to top up at the end, unlike Scott Dixon and Alex Rossi who needed to pit for fuel.
“I didn’t agree with Barry’s strategy call. I got to be grumpy for a couple of laps, and then I saw it was working out, and I started saying thank you again. It was interesting, but for sure, we got the win because of the team that we had on both pit stops and strategy.”
“They made it look really good, and HRC that gave us the mileage we needed to gamble and to make it with that stop that we did,” Palou admitted with characteristic honesty. “I would say just that yellow that we were leading. We were leading and we pitted, and some people stayed out. That was the moment that I would say gave us the win.”
Dixon’s pit stop aided Palou
The gamble proved inspired as those who remained on track, including six-time champion Scott Dixon, ultimately fell short on fuel in the closing stages.
Palou’s ability to manage his Honda’s fuel consumption whilst maintaining competitive pace became the decisive factor, allowing him to inherit the lead when Dixon was forced to pit with just two laps remaining.
Critically he also could save a tiny bit more in the slipstream of the Kiwi, although he was looking at passing him as a caution never seemed far away on Sunday.
“That’s the thing. He has more information than me, and when I was following Scott I could see that he was not saving as much as I was. I was like, ‘this guy is crazy; how is he going to do it.’ But I didn’t know. Like I don’t have a lot of information.
“If it was another driver, I would have probably just focused on myself, but I know that Scott can make crazy stuff happen. Yeah, I trusted Barry but I was like, ‘man, if he gets a yellow he’s still P1 and we’re not going to be able to pass him.’ We were still trying to get that first position on track just in case there was a four-lap yellow at the end and then he was still leading and ending up with a win.”
Tyre strategy
The victory in Road America was particularly satisfying given the challenges Palou faced throughout the IndyCar weekend. His aggressive push for pole position on Saturday had cost him a crucial set of alternate compound tyres, leaving the team with limited strategic options for the race.
In the end the Spanish star had tremendous pace on the blacks.
“I would say the only one that I was a bit like, ‘oh no’, it was just when we went on the second stint on reds. That was only our set of alternates because yesterday I was pushing to try and get the pole, which we didn’t get, and kind of put us on the back foot against Lundgaard, McLaughlin and everybody else that was not in the Fast Six,” he said.
“I knew it was going to help us during that stint, but it was going to hurt us a lot on the last stint. But honestly, the pace we had today in the 10 car was amazing, and we were able to save fuel even on primaries to be quite fast.”
“There was a lot going on”
Despite the tyre disadvantage, Palou’s racecraft shone through in what was described as an unusually aggressive encounters at the Wisconsin circuit as he even looked more aggressive than usual himswlf. Multiple incidents and contact between drivers created a chaotic atmosphere that tested everyone’s resolve.
“I got bumped, I don’t know now if it was the first restart or the second, by like multiple cars. I had contact with a lot of cars,” Palou recounted. “Not big contact, but when you’re touching wheels and it’s like, ‘man, this could end up very bad.'”
The victory extended Honda’s remarkable winning streak to ten consecutive races dating back to Nashville last year, a statistic that even surprised Palou himself.
“It’s crazy. I think if you look at the paces, if you look at the races, it doesn’t make sense,” he mused. “I think it’s kind of the same magical moment that we have in the 10 car, it’s the same for Honda, where even though sometimes they’ve not been — we’ve not been the fastest that we’re able to maximise everything and get the win.”
Championship mentality on display
With Felix Rosenqvist claiming second place and Santino Ferrucci rounding out the podium after his own fuel-saving heroics, Palou’s latest triumph at the IndyCar Road America GP further consolidates his championship advantage. The victory demonstrated not only his raw pace but also his tactical acumen and ability to remain calm under pressure.
As the IndyCar season progresses, Palou’s combination of speed, strategy, and composure continues to set him apart from his rivals. Road America may have been chaotic for most, but for Alex Palou, it was simply another day at the office in what increasingly looks like a championship season for the ages.
“It actually felt really short, this race, for some reason. It was very fun for me,” Palou concluded, perhaps the most telling indication of a driver completely in his element at the pinnacle of American open-wheel racing.
