Alex Palou commemorates ‘best birthday yet’ with a heartwarming family photo

Defending IndyCar world champion Alex Palou turned 28 yesterday and celebrated his birthday at his new home in Indiana with his wife, Esther and daughter Lucia. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver shared a couple of pictures on his Instagram page with his family and a cake, saying it was his best birthday yet.

Palou has been in a long-term relationship with Esther Valle since he was 17 years old. Although he calls Esther his wife, neither of them has ever spoken about when or if they got married. In December 2023, Palou and Esther welcomed their daughter, Lucia. The Spanish driver often shares moments with Lucia on social media, including bringing her to post-race celebrations.

His birthday post on Instagram saw the family of three sitting at a table with a cake in front of them with lit candles and the number 28 placed on it.

"Best birthday yet. Thank you all for the birthday wishes! 🎁" he captioned the post.

Alex Palou has had a brilliant start to his title defense in 2025, having won back-to-back races in the first two events of the season. The 28-year-old has won three IndyCar championships in four years and is on the verge of becoming the first driver since Dario Franchitti to win three back-to-back championships if he wins the title this year.

Palou is only the 13th driver in IndyCar history to win three championships and only the seventh driver who has managed to do so in their first four seasons.

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Alex Palou shares how he teaches life lessons to his daughter

In an interview with IndyCar commentator James Hinchcliffe in November 2024, Alex Palou discussed using the card game UNO to teach life lessons to his daughter Lucia. He emphasized the importance of preparing her for real-world challenges. Palou explained that during their games, he doesn't hold back, even playing challenging cards like the 'plus five.'

He believes this approach helps prepare Lucia for life's realities, emphasizing that everyone, including her father, might not always play fair.

"Did you see the picture when I had plus five laid out? She was not expecting that," Palou shared with Hinchcliffe. "She needs to get ready for life. In general it's like that. Everybody cheats around you. Everybody. When I mean everybody, it's everybody. I'm just showing her that even her dad is gonna cheat, and that's fine. She needs to keep on working, and it is what it is." (5:05 onwards)

Regarding Lucia's future, Palou expressed that he has no specific expectations for her career path. Whether she chooses to become a professional athlete, musician or pursue another passion, he supports her decisions. However, he did mention that he wouldn't want Lucia to enter the racing world as he has experienced the harsh reality of motorsports first-hand.

Palou sits at the top spot in the 2025 IndyCar drivers' standings with 102 points under his belt. He is 39 points ahead of the second-place driver for Arrow McLaren, Pato O'Ward.