Scott Dixon, Àlex Palou, and Josef Newgarden holding up their trophies from the St. Petersburg Grand Prix.
Photo by Irena Mesa.
By Irena Mesa
Àlex Palou started 8th at the NTT IndyCar St. Petersburg Grand Prix. 100 laps later, he stood on top of the podium as the race winner. That day served as a preview of what the rest of the season had in store for him: winning, and lots of it.
This season was nothing short of dominant for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver who led the IndyCar field in every category: wins, pole positions, top five finishes, top ten finishes, and laps led. After the St. Petersburg Grand Prix, he went on to win seven more races, which is the most in a single season since 2007.
When Palou wasn’t at the top of the podium, he wasn’t far from it, only finishing outside of the top three four times. Of those four races, he was only outside of the top 10, twice.
His pace was also one of the strongest in qualifying, with six first-place positions. positions. Drivers Colton Herta and Pato O’Ward were the only others to start on pole more than once, each sharing two first-place starts.
Palou conquered all of the tracks that the series runs on, including superspeedways, short ovals, road courses and street courses. He also earned one of the most coveted wins in all of motorsport: the Indianapolis 500.
Palou was not only the first Spaniard to win the prestigious race, but also the first driver to win both the 500 and the IndyCar title in the same season since Dario Franchitti did so in 2010. This feat has only been achieved 35 other times in the 109 years that the Indianapolis 500 has run.
This year’s title places Palou among elite company in IndyCar history, as there are now only two drivers with more IndyCar championships; A.J. Foyt with seven and Scott Dixon with six. Palou is now only the fourth driver to win three straight titles.
Palou is also the youngest four-time IndyCar champion, and this year’s win was his third in a row.
The secret to his success this year was his 2-year-old daughter, Lucia. Palou explained in an interview with IndyCar commentator Will Buxton that having her around allowed him to stay positive even after a bad practice, qualifying, or race.
Pato O’Ward was the only driver to come close to Palou’s dominant season, and O’Ward ended the season 196 points behind Palou’s 711.
Àlex Palou and the rest of the IndyCar field begin their bid for the 2026 championship in St. Petersburg on March 1, 2026.
