Alex Palou heads into the 2026 IndyCar season as the clear favourite to take a fifth title. The four-time champion is looking to make it four titles in a row this year as well.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver saw his case against McLaren come to an end earlier this month. His complete focus and future is in IndyCar.
In 2025, Alex Palou had one of the greatest seasons ever seen in any racing category. He won eight races, finished on the podium 13 times and was outside the top 10 just twice. A gamble on strategy that failed in Toronto and getting taken out in Detroit cost him a top 10 in every round.
The Spaniard won the championship by a whopping 195 points. His amazing average finishing position? 4.05. He also led 778 laps.
To cap a year most drivers could only dream about, Alex Palou also won the Indy 500 last May. It was his first oval win as well. He solidified himself as one of the GOATs.
Speaking to Pit Debrief and other media outlets on Wednesday during IndyCar media content days, the 28-year-old was realistic but hungry for the same.
The level of dominance by the former Dale Coyne Racing driver was very unique to the series.
Alex Palou will try to match 2025 levels but concedes a repeat is unlikely in 2026 IndyCar season
“I think 2025 was so strange, so good, so magical, in a way, for the 10 car that everybody understands that it’s very hard to get there.
“That doesn’t mean that nobody can or that I cannot do it again, but you need so many things to go right to get eight wins, to win the 500, to win the championship.
“Like it’s what, if we win six now it’s going to feel like a failure? Because I’ve never won six before.
“Like I think 2023, which felt like an amazing season, we won five there, and it felt like it was impossible to do it again.
“Although I would love to have another season like 2025, I am pretty certain that it’s probably not going to happen again for me. But I’ll try. I’ll try.
“So I don’t think I have added pressure for that. Obviously we need to go out again and see if we can be successful and fight for the championship and the 500.
“But I don’t think that adds pressure. Everybody needs to do that. That’s why they pay us, to win.
“Yeah, I’m excited to see what we have, and I’m excited to see if we can do it again.”
The chase for brilliance
When asked to go back and look at the small things that went wrong in 2025 that could have seen on the podium at every race, the four-time champion reflected on the sheer volume of work required by him and the team, as well as small slices of luck.
Nonetheless, the fire is in his belly to try and repeat what he did last year.
“It’s very tough. It’s very tough to go now and look at last season and know that we need to do all over again because it was a lot of work and a lot of luck that we had as well.
“I feel like last season, again, was magical. Yes, we could have made even more. But at the same time, everybody could have.
“I am happy the way it went, and I am excited to see what we can do this year. I know we can deliver really, really good results, really good consistent results and a lot of wins.
“Now that we know it’s doable to make it, we know it’s very tough, but I think that’s what we need to chase. We need to chase that, trying to get those podiums, those amount of podiums, those amount of wins, and trying to get both the 500 and the championship.”
Alex Palou wary of everyone heading into the 2026 IndyCar season
Although the former McLaren F1 reserve made IndyCar look like a video game on easy mode in the last campaign, Palou will face plenty of tough opposition again in 2026.
Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing), Will Power and Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti), Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren), Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgraden (Team Penske) are likely to be his main challengers for wins and the overall crown. Palou also name-checked David Malukas in the third Team Penske car.
Pushed on who he is thinking about as his main rivals in 2026, the Spanish driver is wary of every single driver on a hugely competitive grid.
For all them the goal is clear: try and find a level of consistency and strong results to challenge the CGR man.
“Everybody, man. Everybody. You never know.
“Is it going to be Power with Andretti, is it going to be Malukas, Dixon, Kirkwood? I think it changes every single year, and you cannot count one person, one driver, one team out. I think that’s the beauty of INDYCAR.
“Yeah, I have everybody in mind, and at the same time I don’t have anybody. Just it’s too early. I know that to have somebody in mind we need to be in the fight as well.
“I’m focused on that 10 car, trying to get to Sebring test as ready as possible and then trying to get to St. Pete and see what our speed is. Is it going to be the same as last year or better? Hopefully better.
“But yeah, that’s what I have in mind, honestly.
“I think everybody is capable. I think nobody expected the 10 to win eight races last year.”
Palou points to Kirkwood and his strong start to 2025
As Kyle Kirkwood showed in the first part of 2025, challenging and beating the Spaniard was possible. He won three of the opening eight rounds, including defeating Palou in a straight fight at Long Beach.
Ultimately, though, no podiums in the second part of 2025 saw him end up P4 in the standings.
“Nobody expected Kirkwood to win three of the first eight, as well. Without the 10 car, Kirkwood would have had one of the best season starts lately.
“I think you cannot count anybody out.”
