The man is brilliant. He is the best in the IndyCar. He has been the best driver to enter the series in quite some time. There is a chance he is already greater than his teammate Scott Dixon, a man who is second all-time in victories and second all-time in championships. Dixon never had a run like this.
We are living in a world where Palou locked up a championship with a race to spare two years ago, something that had never happened since reunification and had not happened in the series whose roots are the Indy Racing League since 2005. Last year, Palou nearly had the title locked up a race early. Now, Palou has won four of the first five races, his championship lead is 97 points and the Catalan driver effectively has his fourth title in five years wrapped up and we haven't even made it to Memorial Day weekend.
Palou plays with his food every race. It never looked like this race was not going to be his even as Graham Rahal led nearly the entire first half of the event. Palou was constantly in Rahal's mirrors. If Palou remained in touching distance going into the final stop, he was going to have a shot at victory until the checkered flag.
Palou didn't need to wait until the final pit stop. Rahal's team deciding to run its final set of alternate tires on the penultimate stint instead of waiting to run them on the final stint was costly. The one thing the Rahal team likely didn't count on was Palou maintaining ground on the primary tire while Rahal was on the alternate. Palou was quicker than Rahal despite the perceived disadvantage in rubber. Rahal's alternate tires wore out beyond the wear of Palou's primary tires, and Palou flashed into the lead before they even made it to the final round of pit stops. In four laps, Palou was up to a 6.1-second lead.
The late caution for David Malukas breaking down opened the door for an upset. Palou's lead was over ten seconds at that point over Patricio O'Ward. O'Ward never made Palou sweat on that restart. Palou just resumed his beatdown, and in the final dash to the finish, Palou said goodnight, leaving the competition with a meal of his dust, as he claimed his third consecutive Grand Prix of Indianapolis victory.
Nothing lasts forever, but no one has been able to come close to Palou and the #10 Ganassi team in 2025. It has been a long time since we have entered an Indianapolis 500 feeling there is a clear favorite. Palou is the man. It will be his race and everyone else will be running for second.
2. Patricio O'Ward ended up second and he was probably the fourth-best driver today. O'Ward got to second with a timely final stop and he leaped ahead of Scott McLaughlin, who had spent most of the race in third. I don't think O'Ward did anything special beyond he made the final stint at the right time and he took advantage of McLaughlin coming out in traffic behind the lapped car of Colton Herta.
O'Ward did nothing special and he finished second. Good for him.
3. Will Power ended up third and he was probably the sixth-best driver today. Power did what O'Ward did. He benefitted when McLaughlin was caught in traffic and when Graham Rahal's race unravelled. After a boneheaded start to the season, Power had driven four quiet races, finishing in the top six in all of them. This was his first podium finish of the season.
Good for him.
4. It felt like Scott McLaughlin could have been set to sneak in and steal a victory at one point when Graham Rahal and Álex Palou were caught behind the back-marker of Jacob Abel. McLaughlin dove into the pit lane and sought to take advantage of the traffic. It didn't quite work out as Rahal and Palou came in the following lap. The positions remained unchanged with McLaughlin in third.
Then McLaughlin was burned on his final stop to come out behind the lapped car of Colton Herta. What was looking to be second ended up as fourth. McLaughlin should have been on the podium today. The only bad thing to happen was catching Herta after that stop. McLaughlin made no mistakes today. He ended up finishing where he started, but he was better than that for this entire race.
5. Scott Dixon went from 16th to fifth. It started with a good opening stint on the primary tire followed by a second stint on the alternate tire where he could pick off a few more positions. Then a third stint of consistent pace on the primary tire got him more ground and he was able to end all-out on the alternate tire.
If Dixon only could find some qualifying pace, he might be able to compete with Palou. Just when you start to worry about Dixon, he has a day like this. It makes us nervous, but then he impresses us once again.
6. Oh Graham Rahal, how I waited to talk about your day!
It was always going to be a task to defeat Palou, but Rahal got the jump at the start, taking the lead from the pole-sitter Palou, and Rahal was able to hold the point through the first round of pit stops. Despite being caught behind Jacob Abel, Rahal still held onto the lead. On the second round of stops, he and Palou stopped together, but Rahal held on. The critical error was the Rahal team made the choice to take the alternate tire, his second set of the race, meaning he would have to finish on the primary tire.
The hopes of victory ended there.
It possibly could have worked out, but Rahal needed to drive away from the competition. He was unable to do that and Palou was able to take the lead before the final round of pit stops even began. Rahal's tires were shot and he slid backward. He was over six seconds behind Palou when he made his final stop. To add insult to injury, the team had a long stop and then held him for a moment to avoid an unsafe pit release into the path of Kyle Kirkwood.
Rahal came out in fifth but essentially a million miles from he had spent most of this race.
Regardless of how a team broke up the race today, the only logical choice was to end on the alternate tire. It was the best tire and it would give the teams the most speed on the run to the checkered flag. The Rahal team rolled the dice but unnecessarily so. The team gave Álex Palou an empty net for him to slam home the easiest goal of his life.
I can understand the Rahal team thinking it had to do something special to beat Palou in a one-on-one fight, but it took Rahal out of the fight before we could even get to the final round. If Rahal was on primary tires in that penultimate stint, the same as Palou, I don't think Palou passes him prior to the final stop. Rahal's tires would not have fallen off that much to where Palou could pounce. It would have come down to the final pit stop and final stint. Could Palou leapfrog Rahal or could Palou beat Rahal in a fight to the finish? Rahal made it easy by taking itself out of the battle altogether.
Even if Palou ended up as the better of the two drivers in a battle to the finish, Rahal likely would have still finished second today. Instead, Rahal dropped back to fifth, but he was a sitting duck on that restart. Dixon took fifth immediately and Rahal salvaged sixth from a day where he could have been second.
This is all on the RLLR team. Graham Rahal did all he could and he probably should have won this race. He definitely should have been on the podium, but he wasn't even put on a strategy to give him a shot at getting the most out of this race, which sucks because we don't know if RLLR is going to come this close to a podium again. The only track this team can seem to excel at is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. It blew its one chance.
It has been a rough season for this team. Considering RLLR entered this weekend with zero top ten finishes across its three cars, it is unthinkable to believe its worst result of the season would be sixth, but with how this race played out, this is the most painful result so far.
7. Marcus Armstrong was the only driver to go primary-primary-alternate-alternate in this race and it paid off with Armstrong going from 15th to seventh. I liked the call to end on two stints with the alternate tire.
This race was starting almost split 50/50 on the tire selection. It actually leaned 15-12 in favor of the primary tire. Armstrong was following the group. By taking the primary on the next stint, he wasn't losing that much group. When you factor in Kyffin Simpson didn't start the race, Marcus Ericsson broke down and Callum Ilott and Colton Herta each fell off the lead lap due to unscheduled pit stops early, Armstrong was not taking a gamble as 13 cars were on alternate tires and 11 cars were on the primaries.
It allowed Armstrong to take advantage of those on the primary tire for the third stint and then he was even with the field on the final stint. Entering that final stop, Armstrong was in the top ten. If we do this again, I wonder how many more teams will employ this strategy where it gets the least desirable tire out of the way in the first two stints. It surely worked for Armstrong. Hopefully, others noticed.
8. Kyle Kirkwood started 21st and he had to do something different to get track position. Kirkwood went primary-alternate-alternate-primary. Kirkwood likely knew he had to take advantage of those who would run the middle two stints on the primary tire to get track position and then live with the hand he was dealt on the final stint.
It worked. It got him into the top ten. He was seventh after that final stop, but that was the best his day was going to be though. There was no way he could make up ground on the primary tire when the top five were all on the alternate. He lost seventh spot to Armstrong after the restart, but Kirkwood still managed eighth. It is as good as it was going to be after starting 21st.
9. Rinus VeeKay went primary-alternate-primary-alternate, but stopping on lap 14 to get off the primary tire paid dividends. He was able to carve through the middle of the final on that second stint, and it got him into a top ten position. This is the kind of strategy Dale Coyne Racing was once exceptional at, turning a start outside the top twenty into a top ten finish. Even better is they have a driver who can execute such a strategy. It has been a good year for VeeKay and DCR.
10. It was a scrap for tenth, and Felix Rosenqvist came out with the spot. Rosenqvist had a few lockups and a few bumps in this race. Qualifying did not go Meyer Shank Racing's way, but the team and both drivers did a sensational job to turn this into a double top ten day.
11. Louis Foster suffered at the end of his first stint. Foster didn't lose that much ground, but ending on used alternate tires left him with a battle to the finish, and it cost him a top ten result. This was still a good day for Foster. Should the team have set him up to end on new alternate tires? Probably. This is a rookie. In race #5 of his career, I wouldn't believe he would have the comfort to sprint to the finish on used tires. It was a good day, but it could have been better. That will be the story of Rahal Letterman Lanigan's 2025 Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
To wrap up the RLLR day, the only team to run a dumber strategy than the #15 RLLR team is the #30 RLLR team. I cannot figure out who thought it would be smart to run alternate-alternate-primary-primary. Devlin DeFrancesco was done with the alternate tire halfway through the race, and DeFrancesco fumbled out of the gate when switching to the primary tire when he stalled on that second stop. That took him out of the top ten, but he was always likely to tumble that far. It was only made worse when he still had a second stint to go on the primary tire. DeFrancesco ended up 17th. Without that stall, DeFrancesco might finish 14th, but again RLLR took a car out of the top ten.
I understand with three cars splitting strategies. With three cars starting in the top five, you cannot be that crazy!
Kyle Kirkwood can finish on the primary because he started 21st. If you were starting outside the top fifteen that was the only way that gamble was acceptable. RLLR had three cars starting in the top five! Split the strategy with one car starting on the primary. Hell, run the Armstrong strategy and run the first two stints on the primary compound.
Ending on the alternate tire is where the planning should have started. Then you build the rest of the strategy from there. I don't understand how RLLR missed that on TWO CARS STARTING IN THE TOP FIVE!
12. Josef Newgarden is 12th but he had an impressive day because he had an MGU issue that caused him to drop from his grid position to essentially last because his car was being worked on during the parade laps. I don't understand how Newgarden and his team continue to stumble. Seatbelt issue, driver error, MGU issues. I don't know how this keeps happening to this team.
Remember when Newgarden decided ahead of the 2024 to focus himself on his career and eliminate distractions? I have been saying this for a while, it is time to go back to the drawing board. All that work has been for nothing.
13. Nolan Siegel had a positive day driving up to 13th. Siegel wasn't in the mix that much. Christian Lundgaard had a pit lane penalty when he went over the blend line exiting after his second stop. This killed Lundgaard's race. He was looking poised to fight for a top ten result. The Dane went primary-alternate-alternate-primary. He likely would have been around Kirkwood and in a battle for those spots at the back of the top ten. Instead, Lundgaard was 16th.
14. Alexander Rossi did the primary-alternate-alternate-primary strategy. It didn't work. Rossi was 14th after starting ninth. That battle for tenth was likely tighter than expected, and Rossi lost out with the number of cars in that fight. I wonder how Rossi would have fared on the primary-primary-alternate-alternate strategy that Armstrong ran. It netted Armstrong seven spots from the start. I am not saying it would have put Rossi on the podium, but I think he could have pushed for a top five.
Christian Rasmussen started 19th and finished 19th. This seems to be the story of Rasmussen's career. He has a lot of races where he is anonymous. I know Ed Carpenter Racing hasn't been the bellwether team over Rasmussen's season-plus in IndyCar, but I also don't think Rasmussen has shown much to think he is someone who can make waves in IndyCar. With how competitive teams are for the Leaders' Circle funding, especially after last season when a number made changes with the prize money in mind, ECR might be making a change if the results don't improve.
15. Conor Daly was 15th and Sting Ray Robb was 21st. That is Juncos Hollinger Racing for you. Daly did spin on the opening lap. Not the way you want to start the race, so I guess 15th isn't that bad in that context.
16. Robert Shwartzman ended up on the lead lap and in 18th, a nine-spot improvement. Callum Ilott was spun when the final stacked up early exiting turn 12, and Ilott battled some mechanical issues afterward to finish 22nd. Prema are going through those growing pains.
17. Not a great day for A.J. Foyt Racing.
Santino Ferrucci lost an engine in the warm-up, and he didn't benefit from starting in 11th on the primary tire. Ferrucci was shuffled back quickly. He actually rolled the dice when his teammate David Malukas broke down and brought out a caution. He switched to a third set of alternate tire after running nine laps on his second primary set. Ferrucci sacrificed track position in hopes to charge through the field. Ferrucci then immediately locked up his tires entering turn one, lost spots and that gamble backfired.
Even before breaking down, David Malukas was outside the top fifteen and wasn't competitive in this race. A.J. Foyt Racing will be happy about oval activity beginning Tuesday.
18. Jacob Abel's highlight of the race was being traffic to balk Graham Rahal and Álex Palou. Again, I don't think Abel is that bad. We can see Dale Coyne Racing has picked up form. However, in five races Abel has yet to finish better than 23rd and I don't think he has spent a lap in the top twenty that wasn't during a pit cycle. Something must give.
19. Kyle Kirkwood salvaged Andretti Global's day because the team had numerous mechanical issues in the warm up. In the race, Colton Herta damaged his front wing on lap two and fell off the lead lap. Then seven laps into the race, Marcus Ericsson lost drive and was spun for good measure.
This was a nightmare day for Andretti Global, but at no point this season has it felt Andretti was due for a day to go this poorly. Herta has had his pit stop mishaps, but that isn't a sign that everything would break on this team at once. The team has won and probably could have two victories this season. I guess it is better for this to happen in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis than the Indianapolis 500, but this does feel like a team that gets in its own way more often than it should.
20. Kyffin Simpson did not start this race. Simpson could not get the car in gear on the grid and he never took part. I do find it fascinating that the teams can run a morning warm-up, look over the cars in the few hours before the race and when it is time for the race to begin, there is a problem that keeps the car from running.
I do wonder if IndyCar should be like Formula One and allow reconnaissance laps prior to the cars lining up on the pit lane. We can still have the warm-up, but like an hour before the race allow the teams to run one or two laps to check everything over and then line up on the grid.
We don't need driver introductions. Scrap the driver introductions. Have the cars do reconnaissance laps and then when the drivers are done have all 27 of the get on a flatbed and do a fan lap. IndyCar and American motorsports must get into the 21st century with the pre-race festivities. Driver introductions are slow and out-dated.
21. I have been a proponent of having the teams regulated to use both tire compounds multiple times in a race for a while now. I thought it played out well. There is always going to be a limit to strategy. If the alternate tire is the best tire, it is the best tire and teams (except RLLR) will work to end on that tire. But I think this opened the door today, and for the first attempt, I think we only scratched the surface of what is possible.
The alternate tire was the one to end on. That set up two logical strategies:
Alternate-Primary-Primary-Alternate
Primary-Alternate-Primary-Alternate
However, we saw Marcus Armstrong make up big ground going primary-primary-alternate-alternate. If we do this again, maybe more teams decide to finish on the preferred tire in consecutive stints.
You could say this does nothing and doesn't fix anything if the strategies are limited to two options, but it was already limited to two options. Under the normal rules where the teams only have to use each compound once the strategies are either....
Alternate-Primary-Alternate-Alternate
Primary-Alternate-Alternate-Alternate
Racing is pretty straight-forward. There are a few good options that are proven to work and then there are plenty of dumb options that will end in failure.
I think running two stints on each added a little more variety to the race. I hope we try this at more races, especially street races where those are more on the fence over whether it will be two stops or three stops based on fuel. The IMS road course is always a three-stop race. It wasn't going to revolutionize today's event, but I hope we see it for the rest of the season.
We mind as well try stuff, and this isn't a costly experiment. All the teams have the tires anyway. They aren't being charged more nor are they being told to buy or develop something new. This seems like an easy change to hope and mix things up.
22. I do have one suggestion about how to take this a step further, and I will admit the most infamous moment in IMS road course history is what brought this to mind: IndyCar should have a race where the teams are limited to two sets of tires for the entire race. One primary set and one alternate set. That is it.
I want to see a race where the teams have to take the tires further than they have ever gone before. The Firestone tire does seem to last forever. It feels like at the end of a stint the tire could probably go for another 20 or 30 laps before there will be failures. It will not be quick but it will still work.
I want to see one race where the teams can only change tires once. I want to see who decides to push early to get positions and who decides to save and have speed at the end. I want to see what teams change early and I want to see what teams change late and go all-out in a sprint to the finish.
Again, let's try stuff. The one-tire change limit would actually improve the entire weekend. There would be two sets for the race and eight sets available for practice and qualifying. All we hear about is how the teams never have enough tires and that is why 40% of practice is nothing happening. They couldn't complain if 80% of their tire allotment cannot be used in the race. They would have no choice but to practice more. The fans would win on Friday that is for sure.
If we are trying two stints for each compound in a race, IndyCar should also try limiting tire changes to once per race. It might be good and fun to watch. Again, what else does IndyCar have to lose? Not a damn thing!
23. Fun hypotheticals aside, we are through with the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and, in less than 64 hours, Indianapolis 500 practice will begin and we are practically 14 days away from Álex Palo winning the Indianapolis 500.
