IndyCar’s hottest talent has set tongues wagging on and off the track, and has even been linked with a future move to Formula 1. Alex Palou spoke with Rob Widdows to discuss the past, present, future and that spat last summer

CHRIS GRAYTHEN, GETTY IMAGES

Eyes in the prize: Palou reflected in his championship trophy after being confirmed as IndyCar champion at Long Beach in 2021

His F1 debut came in the public eye during a practice session at COTA with McLaren in 2022.

Right: Franchitti saw the potential early

I’d been watching him in 2020, he looked pretty handy, doing a good job in his first season, and when we did the first test with him at Laguna Seca ahead of the 2021 season we thought ‘this guy is really good’. That’s when we called Chip and told him, ‘This kid is mega.’ I don’t think anyone else was looking at him at the time so the deal was done.” That’s four-time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti, now a key adviser at Chip Ganassi Racing.

We could say the rest is history, Alex Palou winning the IndyCar title in his first year with Ganassi and looking red hot for a second this season. But... when we catch up with him in early July the rumour mill about his future is in overdrive. Specifically there’s talk of a possible move to Formula 1 where he is already a McLaren reserve driver, although in the fevered world of online speculation several teams are said to be interested. A decision from Palou is said to be due at the end of the month.

So our interiew, which comes on the back of a stellar run of four wins in five, marks a moment in time for the 26-year-old. Will he stick or twist? Yes, he’s flying high. But why leave Ganassi? Unless he’s on an F1 promise…

But before all that, let’s go back to the start, to understand how the cream of a fine new IndyCar generation has risen to the top.

In brief, it took him 10 years to get where he is today, a long and winding road through karting in Spain, F3 and GP3 in Europe, Super Formula in Japan and other diversions.

Alex Palou Montalbo, to give him the full family name, started karting when he was five years old. “There was no history of racing in the family,” he says. “We were not wealthy people, but there was a rental kart track between my house and school. I had my first go on my fifth birthday. I passed this track every day, it looked like fun, so that’s how it started. I won titles in Spain, the WSK Euro Series in 2012 and some international races. I loved the competition, working out ways to go faster than all the others. It was super-fun, very challenging and so rewarding once we got everything right. It was a great experience, all the travelling to races around Europe.”