IndyCar influencer backs Alex Palou for back-to-back wins ahead of Thermal race

IndyCar influencer Chase Holden has tipped Alex Palou to secure consecutive race victories at the Thermal Club Grand Prix. The Spanish driver is currently the sole competitor to have tasted victory at the California race.

The three-time IndyCar champion [2021, 2023, 2024] started the 2025 season with a victory after delivering a masterfully controlled drive at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix. He is now within touching distance of recreating history—as just the second driver in the last decade to claim victories in the opening two races of a season.

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver, who is eyeing what would be a third consecutive IndyCar Series championship, is widely tipped as the bookmakers’ favorite for the race win and Holden in his analysis of the IndyCar Fantasy Challenge, backed the Spaniard to clinch victory.

Speaking in a video shared by IndyCar on X (formerly Twitter), the American racing influencer stated,

“…my first pick-up. I have got to go right back to Alex Palou with Chip Ganassi Racing. He is now $30.3 million, and let’s be real—Palou owned this place last year. He has already got a win in 2025. This could easily be a moment where we see him go back-to-back.” (00:12 onwards)

Alex Palou, who sits comfortably atop the drivers’ standings, will become the first driver since his current teammate Scott Dixon in 2020 to start an IndyCar season with consecutive wins—coincidentally, a season in which Dixon also claimed the series title.

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Alpine chief previously backed Alex Palou for F1

Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes previously backed Alex Palou to succeed in F1. The French team boss also touched on a few drivers who would fit into the European open-wheel racing series.

The former Dale Coyne driver was signed to the McLaren F1 team as a test driver in 2022. Unfortunately, he could not secure a role as a full-time driver. Oakes, however, stressed that Palou would be a very good addition to the sport.

Speaking on an episode of the "Beyond the Grid" podcast in November 2024, the 37-year-old team principal stated:

“He’d be quick [in F1], yeah. Was he a three-time IndyCar champion? I think he’d be very good, yeah. Obviously, I follow a lot of IndyCar stuff now. Some drivers who’ve been in my team—Palou and [Marcus] Armstrong—are over there now racing, and [Marcus] Ericsson’s a good mate of mine as well,” Oakes said.

Alex Palou’s name is one of several drivers linked with joining F1’s newest team, Cadillac. The Barcelona-born driver, alongside Andretti’s Colton Herta, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, and former Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez, are among the rumored favorites to land a seat with the American racing team. Cadillac will join the F1 grid from the start of the 2026 season.