Álex Palou's Fourth Indycar Championship Was His Best So Far

Chip Ganassi Racing

In nan closing laps of nan 2025 Portland Grand Prix, Spaniard Álex Palou earned his 4th title successful melodramatic fashion while pushing, possibly excessively far, for nan title victory. It was races for illustration this 1 that show precisely really Palou has earned his 4 titles successful 5 seasons pinch Chip Ganassi Racing, pinch relentless thrust and unthinkable talent. Once his only remaining title rival, McLaren's Patricio O'Ward, dropped respective laps down pinch motor troubles, nan world could person forgiven Palou for simply trundling astir and securing his title points people pinch a somewhat blimpish apical 10 finish. 

A DIVE BY PALOU! 😯@lundgaardoff fights backmost and gets backmost to P2. pic.twitter.com/Q5OiYBOmun

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) August 10, 2025

The DHL driver doesn't play that game, however, and he was level retired until nan finish. A hard scrabble conflict betwixt himself and Christian Lundgaard ended pinch nan yellowish and reddish instrumentality taking evasive action heavy into nan writer and jumping a short ungraded berm to get backmost connected track. Palou was wrong a 2nd of title leader Will Power, and he wasn't going to spell down without a fight. This was ne'er going to extremity pinch a mid-tier strategy conflict and a seashore to nan decorativeness line. Palou wanted that title win, and if thing had gone somewhat otherwise successful nan measurement nan apical 3 caught traffic, aliases if a be aware had been thrown, he mightiness good person had it. He had fresher tires, he was lapping faster than nan section successful nan closing minutes, and he had nan desire. 

The quality betwixt a bully driver and a four-time champion is to cognize erstwhile you tin and can't return risks, and push for nan triumph anyway.

Aside from a middling capacity astatine nan Toronto information past month, and getting shunted from down connected nan streets of Detroit, Palou has had a astir flawless play successful 2025. He kicked disconnected nan tally pinch 5 wins and a second-place decorativeness from nan first six rounds of nan season, including his first triumph connected an oval, May's Indianapolis 500. In immoderate different bid that would person been beautiful overmuch crippled complete already, but nan IndyCar grid is packed pinch immense talent and tight racing, truthful location was ever a chance that personification other would equine a points conflict successful nan backmost half of nan play to situation Palou. Grabbing 3 much victories and 2 much podiums from rounds 7 done 15 pushed him good beyond catchable, and gave nan world a consciousness of conscionable who they were dealing with. This young driver, still conscionable 28 years old, has earned his 4th title successful American unfastened instrumentality racing, and he's sewage astatine slightest different decade of winning successful nan athletics earlier he'll beryllium considered status age. Hell, nan feline who won nan title for Team Penske, Will Power, is 44 years aged himself. 

Only 3 different drivers person secured 4 titles successful American unfastened instrumentality racing history, possibly you've heard of them: Mario Andretti, Dario Franchitti, and Sébastien Bourdais. And only 2 drivers person eclipsed that number, arsenic Scott Dixon has six titles and AJ Foyt has seven. With a monolithic grid of awesome world talent, Palou's quartet is easy arsenic awesome arsenic immoderate of nan different large winners, if not much so. With each driver successful IndyCar moving nan aforesaid Dallara chassis and nary clear motor specs advantage betwixt Honda and Chevrolet, there's very small to explicate Palou's success, but he's taken to this athletics como un pato a agua.