For the fifth time in six seasons, and the fourth consecutive year, Alex Palou is IndyCar champion once again, this time in 2026. A P10 finish in Race 1 (2) at the Milwaukee Mile on Sunday sealed the deal that looked inevitable weeks ago.
While McLaren and particularly Andretti have made progress in 2026, six wins for Alex Palou and was more than enough to retain his crown. Despite more mistakes of his own this year, inconsistency from others hampered their chances of dethorning the Spaniard.
As he started in IndyCar in 2020, the driver of car #10 has got a remarkable strike rate of 71.43% regarding winning championships in the series. He is one behind soon-to-be former teammate Scott Dixon, while A. J. Foyt holds seven titles.
Alex Palou lost for words after fifth IndyCar championship
Speaking in a special press conference as he wrapped up the 2026 title, the 29-year-old described was thankful to his Chip Ganassi Racing team as he made more history.
The Spaniard started out in IndyCar in 2020 with Dale Coyne Racing, claiming a P3 in only his third start at Road America. He would move into the #10 for 2021, as Felix Rosenqvist departed and headed to McLaren. Five championships, an Indy 500 victory and 24 other wins later, it has been an extraordinary partnership.
The incredibly strong relationships with Barry Wanser and Julian Robertson have made the #10 group unbelievably difficult to match in terms of experience and quality.
“I can’t. It’s very tough, man. It’s tough to put into words [on how it feels to win a fifth title].
“Everything that I owe to this team, to these two men sitting next to me, that they give me the opportunity to be not only a race winner, then a champion, now a five-time champion.
“It’s been incredible. I just feel like we just started yesterday. It just feels like we started yesterday. We’re just getting closer and closer. We’re having more fun and more fun each day. It’s been an absolute joy of a year. The last two years have been just magical for us.”
The feeling he is experiencing
“I never thought I would be first of all an INDYCAR driver. Never thought I could make it. Never thought that I would have the chance to be a professional race car driver. That was my dream.
“When I had the opportunity to be an INDYCAR driver, that was already a huge achievement for me. I was living the dream.
“I remember also then Chip giving me that chance to drive for a championship-winning team at that moment. They just won in 2020 with Scott. That was mind-blowing.
“Since then I feel like I’ve been on this incredible cloud where everything has been so good for me. I have Chip and everybody at CGR, they’ve been giving me all the tools. Julian [Robertson]. I have the people around me, they take so much care of me, and they make me look so good on track.
“It’s just super fun. I don’t know how long this is going to last. One year, 10 years, 15, five years. I don’t know how long are we going to be able to be up top. But I’m enjoying every single day with this team, with this car.”
Far from easy for Alex Palou in 2026 as he continues to build a massive IndyCar legacy
Although Alex Palou is champion and leads by 100 points heading into the final round, 2026 has been trickier than 2025. A lack of winning pace at times was more common, with mistakes also happening from driver and team.
- Phoenix (failing to leave VeeKay enough room)
- Gateway (running out of fuel)
- Road America (pit lane speeding)
- Washington (a crash and pit lane errors by driver and team)
Alex Palou says the trust he has in the Chip Ganassi Racing IndyCar team makes his life much easier behind the wheel, with the driver of car #10 and his engineering group the benchmark in the series for five years now. Tremendous race pace and strategy calls have been key factors in the dominance seen over the last two seasons especially.
“Not easy, man. It’s hard.
“You saw last weekend, even today, we were struggling. There’s moments where I don’t really feel as good as some other weekends.
“I don’t really know, I think just the position I am where I only need to worry about myself driving. I don’t really need to worry about are the pit stops going to be good, are my strategies going to be okay; I don’t really need to worry about big stuff from the team or the car. I only need to focus on myself.
“Obviously working with the team, but I know they’re going to excel at what they are doing. I just can focus on pushing myself and having fun. I just love every single day that I’m on track, whether it’s testing, whether it’s racing; I just love to be with the team and inside the car.”
