'Unbeatable' Alex Palou compared to Max Verstappen in bold claim by IndyCar insider

3-time and defending IndyCar champion Alex Palou has been likened to 4-time defending F1 champion Max Verstappen. IndyCar presenter Tom Gaymor highlighted how both drivers are 'unbeatable' and extremely consistent throughout the season.

Heading into 2025, both Palou and Verstappen are gunning for a unique feat. If the Chip Ganassi Racing driver wins the 2025 IndyCar title, he will become only the fourth driver in series history to win it thrice consecutively. If his Red Bull counterpart wins the 2025 F1 championship, he will join an even more exclusive club of F1 drivers with five consecutive titles. 7-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher is the only one to achieve the feat so far.

Similar to Max Verstappen, Alex Palou has become a pain for his rivals since his debut. On the Divebomb Indycar podcast, Sky Sports IndyCar presenter Tom Gaymor named Palou as one of the modern racing greats.

"I think he's (Palou) one of the best drivers of this generation across any championship. You look at the front-running drivers in Formula 1 - Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Charles (Leclerc), Oscar (Piastri) and the list goes on... he's every bit as good as those young drivers. For me, it's his mental strength, his human intelligence, his resilience to the cause..." he said [41:10 onwards].

Gaymor also commended Palou's sheer grit in beating his IndyCar rivals consistently despite his ongoing, tumultuous legal battle with McLaren, which has been going on since 2023. He then dived deeper into the comparison, adding [42:40 onwards]:

"You talk about Max Verstappen and his mental strength. He's just been at it every single weekend. He's just at it, unbeatable at times. I think Alex Palou is there. He might not have that raw speed that Max has, but I think he's unbeatable."

For both the defending champions, however, their respective 2024 title battles were closer than expected. Verstappen found a new title contender in McLaren's Lando Norris and Palou in Andretti Global's Colton Herta.

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When 'extraterrestrial' Alex Palou was named a better driver than Max Verstappen

AUTO: MAY 11 NTT IndyCar Series Sonsio Grand Prix - Source: Getty

In 2023, famed Argentine IndyCar driver Agustin Canapino boldly declared that Alex Palou was a better and more versatile driver than Max Verstappen. He used a key difference between IndyCar and F1, which is the lack of ovals in the latter, to make his point.

Palou has raced on all forms of circuits in IndyCar - road, streets and ovals. Contrastingly, Verstappen has yet to compete in the latter. Canapino told Fox Sports Argentina (as quoted by PlanetF1):

"Palou is outstanding because for me he is the best driver in the world, in my opinion. If he is not the best, he is among the three best. In my opinion, Palou is more complete than Verstappen. What Palou does in IndyCar for me is really like being an extraterrestrial. But it is a very subjective opinion."

Canapino elaborated on how Max Verstappen is "another alien too," but ovals being the ultimate test of a racing driver's capabilities tipped the scales in Alex Palou's favor.

Going into 2025, both drivers have a bigger challenge on their hands. The F1 grid will converge further, making Verstappen's 5th title hunt a bigger challenge. IndyCar being a spec series keeps Palou's title chances constant, but the introduction of hybrid engines impacted Chip Ganassi Racing's pace after mid-2024.