Alex Palou inches closer to Indy 500 win as Chip Ganassi Racing boss delivers promising news

Alex Palou has three IndyCar championships to his name in five seasons in the American series, but an Indy 500 win remains elusive. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver also won pole at the 2023 edition of the race, but couldn't convert it into a victory.

However, after the recent two-day Indy 500 open test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Chip Ganassi Racing's director of performance, Chris Simmons, has seen a promising development in their car's performance at the big oval. He shared how their Chevrolet-powered challengers are closer to the top than in 2024. He said (via RACER):

"It definitely looked like we were a lot more in the ballpark than last year, and there was a sigh of relief, rather than, ‘Oh boy, we’re in trouble.' I don’t want to read too much into an open test without knowing who was running what power level, but we were pretty happy with the test list we got through, and the performance we had, and the handling and speed of the cars. We’re a lot better place than we were at this time last year."

The 2024 Indy 500 was dominated by Team Penske, while CGR struggled. In qualifying, the performance gap was unbelievable. The Penske trio of Scott McLaughlin, Will Power, and Josef Newgarden locked out the front row. Contrastingly, Alex Palou qualified in the midfield in P14, while Scott Dixon was further back in P21.

However, CGR's race pace and strategy were on point. Palou gained 9 positions to finish in P4, while Dixon performed more brilliantly to secure P3 on the podium. Newgarden won the race with a final lap pass on Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward.

Alex Palou expects drivers to make more mistakes at the 2025 Indy 500

104th Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

The 109th Indy 500 on May 25 will be the first time IndyCar drivers will use hybrid-powered cars at the event. Though the rechargeable hybrid assist gives additional power in short bursts, the extra 105 pounds added by the power units on the car affects the balance and driveability.

After the two-day open test last week, Alex Palou spoke about this double-edged nature of the hybrids.

"It's tougher to drive, it's a lot easier to see people doing mistakes. I think in the past two or three years, it was super easy that if you were comfortable with your car, you just stay there, don't go 100%, wait for the car in front to do a mistake, then you go.

Now, even if you are comfortable and you have a really good car, it's very easy to do a mistake, which then creates a gap for the guy behind to get a chance. I don't think the weight helps, but I think the weight helps because it's so difficult, that creates opportunities," he said via ASAP Sports.

Alex Palou was quickest in the morning session of day one of the open test, and seventh-fastest overall by the end of the day, while teammate Scott Dixon topped the timesheets. On day two, the Spaniard was quickest in race trim, further heightening the hopes of a win.