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Chip Ganassi Racing star Alex Palou has been racing in IndyCar for over five years, has won three championships, yet hasn't managed to win a single race on ovals. The Spaniard came out and detailed the handicap that has prevented him from winning races around ovals.
Palou began his professional racing career in the junior Formula categories and moved up the European Formula racing ladder before making a move to race in IndyCar. Unlike the American open-wheel racing series, the European Formula series didn't race around ovals.
Palou's first time around an oval was during his debut IndyCar season in 2020 when he raced with Dale Coyne Racing. The CGR driver featured on the recent episode of the Racer Debrief podcast, where the host questioned him about going winless at ovals as the 2025 Indy 500 approaches.
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Alex Palou explained the reason that has prevented him from winning at ovals, as he said:
“Since I moved to IndyCar, like five years ago, I didn't know what racing on an oval was. Like, what do I need to do?
“So the car, although you're going super fast, you need to feel it, like, super slowly. Like, the transitions from when you're straight to, like, when you start getting into the banking, the feeling that you get from the car is very different,” he added.
“So I think I'm getting there. But, when I go on an oval, I don't feel as confident. So, what do I need to go faster to tell the team? That's probably what I believe I'm missing. It's more the feeling of, like, okay, I know how to drive this car, but what do I need to go faster?”
Alex Palou has participated in 84 IndyCar races to date, and all 13 of his wins have come at road/street courses. He did come close to winning at the 2021 Indy 500, where he battled Helio Castroneves for the win, but the Brazilian managed to nudge the Spaniard for the glory.
Alex Palou is hopeful of getting his first oval win at the 2025 Indy 500
The 109th running of the Indy 500 is just around the corner. Alex Palou was questioned about his form at the ovals before the start of the 2025 IndyCar season. The Spaniard detailed how he's been close, but hasn't managed to take the chequered flag in P1.
However, Palou suggested that he's getting better and would hopefully get his first oval win at the Indy 500. In the aforementioned source, he said:
“We've been second, second, second, third, fourth — we've been around knocking on that door various times, especially at this place at IMS, it's so hard to get a win with 200 laps, 500 miles, five-to-six pit stops.
“We'll try and work harder this year with the team, with myself, try and get our first oval win, and hopefully it can be here,” he added
The Indy 500 open test is underway from April 23 to 24 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Alex Palou, along with the other 33 confirmed entries, will take to the track.
