INDYCAR: PALOU INFALLIBLE, FOURTH WIN OF THE SEASON AT INDY GP

Alex Palou continues to dominate the 2025 IndyCar season. At the Indianapolis Road Course, site of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the reigning champion claimed his fourth victory in five races, solidifying his lead in the standings. The win comes just days before the most anticipated event of the year: the Indianapolis 500—a race that still eludes the Spaniard.

But the victory didn’t come easy. For most of the race, Palou trailed Graham Rahal, who nailed the start and immediately took the lead. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver held the top spot until lap 58, when Palou made his decisive move—helped by a key strategic call: hard tires for his third stint, while Rahal went with softs. Once in front, the Catalan driver managed the pace flawlessly, even after a late-race caution with 15 laps to go, pulling away once more on the restart.

Behind him, Pato O’Ward delivered a stellar performance. After a less-than-ideal qualifying, the Mexican driver carved his way through the field, capitalizing on his final pit stop to clinch second place. Will Power completed the podium with a clean and composed race after starting seventh.

Scott McLaughlin just missed the podium, finishing fourth. His race was largely trouble-free, but a questionable tire strategy—using both compounds in quick succession—cost him a shot at the top three. Scott Dixon rounded out the top five, making the most of the softer compound on the final restart to get around a fading Rahal, who dropped to sixth and ended the day as one of its biggest disappointments after a strong start.

Marcus Armstrong took seventh, followed by a charging Kyle Kirkwood who climbed from 17th to help salvage Andretti’s race weekend. Rinus Veekay and Felix Rosenqvist—despite a spin—closed out the top ten.

For the Rahal team, what started as a potential dream day turned into a disappointment. Devlin DeFrancesco fell down the order after an issue during his second pit stop and finished 17th. Louis Foster ended up 11th, just ahead of Josef Newgarden, who had to start from the back due to a pre-race issue but managed to fight his way forward.

Andretti Autosport’s day was one to forget, with both Marcus Ericsson and Colton Herta retiring. One of the few bright spots came from Prema Racing, particularly rookie Robert Shwartzman. Despite starting at the very back, the Russian made the most of the late-race chaos to climb to 18th. Callum Ilott’s day was essentially over at the start due to contact in the opening laps.

© Cavalieri Garage & Co.