“I said it to him (Palou). I said, ‘’Man, I’ve been around a long time, and it’s amazing to see something like that in this field at this time.’ It really is. It’s incredibly tough to win a race in IndyCar now. So to get four wins and one second place in five races is impressive”, Power said after finishing third in Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, achieving his first podium of 2025.
“It’s very impressive. It’s something we’ll look back on. As much as we want to beat him, I have an appreciation for people who are very good at what they do, and he is extremely well-rounded and good at what he does. He’s one of the best.”
Patricio O’ward, Arrow McLaren, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, Will Power, Team Penske
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
Power, who has had a string of top-six finishes in the last four races, highlights his own performance. However, he admits that he still needs to find a way to beat Palou in the current IndyCar season.
“You’re definitely taking a very close look at what he’s doing, what the team is doing. I would say the last four races have been absolutely solid for me, if he hadn’t been winning. Like, they’re all top five basically. All finishes that make up for a great championship. I’m yet to finish ahead of Palou”, he admitted.
Can Palou’s dominance continue at the IMS oval?
After starting the season with two street courses and three road courses, the 109th Indianapolis 500 is next for IndyCar, and all eyes will be on Palou to see if he can translate his stunning performance to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
There’s still a long way to go in the next couple of weeks to find out, and Power doesn’t expect Palou to dominate at the Brickyard as he has in most of the races so far this year. However, he has no doubt that a win in the Indy 500 would put the Spaniard in the pantheon of motorsports.
“That will be a very different story. I’d be shocked if he dominated that one. I think he’ll be up there, but so will a lot of other people. It would be incredible if he won. It would be one of the greatest moments in motorsports I’ve seen in my career,” he stated.
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
Palou: “The normal thing would be not to win the Indy 500”
Palou already has a pole position in the 2023 Indianapolis 500 and finished second in 2021. He has led 119 laps in the last four editions of the race. But despite proving himself fast on the historic 2.5-mile oval and delivering a stunning performance in 2025, Palou claims that his brilliant series of results will likely come to an end in the 500.
“I mean, there’s a high chance of that, but hopefully we can change it. What if it doesn’t end and we suddenly win the Indy 500? That would be pretty sweet. The normal thing would be not to win. So, if we can make it happen, it would be really special,” said Palou, who has yet to win on ovals.
“I think we’ve done everything that we could in terms of results and the team as well working with our speedway car. I’m actually thinking to put this car with road course wins to see if it’s going to be as fast at the Speedway because these cars is really, really fast”.
“Yeah, hopefully we can compete. I think the Indy 500 is a whole other ballgame. I don’t think we’re the favorites, but we’re going to give it our all.”
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