“It’s not hardcore crossfit”: When Alex Palou shared his fitness routine as an IndyCar driver

IndyCar driver Alex Palou was featured on the YouTube channel The Manual's short in August 2024 where he answered questions about his fitness routine. The host of the channel asked the 2024 IndyCar champion questions on a video call, and the Spaniard answered them while driving his car.

Alex Palou was asked about what his in-season and off-season workout routine looks like, to which he replied:

“Yeah, we switch a lot. I do a little bit of CrossFit. It's not hardcore CrossFit where you go crazy with weights. I cannot really go up with weights a lot just because otherwise I just gain a ton of weight that it's not useful for the car. So we combine a little bit of CrossFit with normal weights, a lot of neck trainings for driving purposes and then a little bit of cardio, which I don't really enjoy, but we have to do it.”

When asked what kind of cardio he did, Alex Palou added:

“Yeah, all running. I used to do a lot of mountain bike and I really enjoyed it, but I broke my collarbone that must be like eight years ago. And it's a thing that it's a lot of joy but at the same time too much risk for our season. So, yeah, I just run. I try and run.”

The Spaniard won his third IndyCar title in 2024 despite Colton Herta’s (2024 runner-up) strong end to the season which included a victory at the final race in Nashville. Palou's other two championship wins came in 2021 and 2023 and his decision to stay with CGR for 2024 paid off.

Alex Palou had signed a contract with McLaren’s IndyCar team to join them for the 2023 IndyCar season, which included the F1 reserve driver role. However, given his then contract with Chip Ganassi Racing, a mediation led to his joining being extended to 2024. However, the Spaniard failed to honor the contract, which led to a lawsuit.

Alex Palou to fly to London for mediation with McLaren over the $30M lawsuit

Rolex 24 at Daytona - Source: Getty

As Alex Palou prepared for the 2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona, AP News reported that the Spaniard will be flying to London with his attorneys on Tuesday, January 28th for mediation with McLaren. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were given long-term contracts by McLaren and the IndyCar driver didn't see a way of making it up the F1 ladder.

After the CGR driver breached the contract with McLaren and refused to join the team for 2024, the Woking-based outlet filed a lawsuit against Palou in October 2023. McLaren filed the lawsuit to recoup the advances to Palou in the form of the salary, the resources poured into his development, and the financial implications that occurred due to Palou's denial.

The two parties will try to navigate and arrange for a settlement in the scheduled mediation, but in case it doesn't work out, the lawsuit will go to trial in court.