Alex Palou, once again, achieved the impossible, completing a daring comeback from a nine-second deficit to overtake pole sitter Pato O’Ward and secure a thrilling victory at The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix on Sunday. This remarkable feat extends Palou’s winning streak to two consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season, solidifying his status as a formidable contender.
SEE: Race Results
In his No. 10 DHL Honda Chip Ganassi Racing car, Palou emerged victorious against O’Ward’s No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet by a narrow margin of 10.1854 seconds. Christian Lundgaard secured a third-place finish in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, leading the team to a remarkable double podium finish, their first since May 2023.
Reflecting on the incredible weekend, Palou expressed his awe, stating, “What an amazing weekend! We had a truly fast car from the very beginning of practice, and everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing on the 10 car executed flawlessly. We knew starting with the used reds (alternate tires) would be risky, but we were determined to make it work with the 10 car, and we pulled it off.”
As the championship standings stand at two events into the 17-race season, Palou holds a commanding lead over second-place O’Ward by a significant 39 points.
Lundgaard acknowledged the challenge posed by Palou’s consistent success, acknowledging, “It’s tough to see this guy beat us all in every single event. We’ve got to find a way to stop him.”
Colton Herta secured a fourth-place finish in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global, while Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top five in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing.
Palou, trailing by nine seconds with 15 laps left, made a remarkable comeback to win the first caution-free NTT INDYCAR SERIES event since October 2020. During his final pit stop on Lap 49, he opted for the more grippy and faster Firestone Firehawk alternate compound tires. O’Ward, who made his last pit stop on Lap 50, chose the Firestone Firehawk primary compound tires.
On Lap 56, Palou overtook O’Ward for the lead, skillfully diving under his rival on the abrasive 17-turn, 3.067-mile natural terrain road course. Palou’s superior tire grip allowed him to accelerate swiftly, extending his lead to three seconds by Lap 58 and six seconds by Lap 61.
The winning move was orchestrated by the Chip Ganassi Racing team’s decision to switch to alternate tires on Palou’s final pit stop. This strategic move enabled him to overtake Lundgaard for second place on Lap 50, just one lap after Palou’s pit stop, after an intense battle over multiple corners.
Palou then set his sights on O’Ward and pursued him relentlessly, narrowing the gap to 4.9 seconds by Lap 52 and 1.3 seconds by Lap 53 as O’Ward struggled with slower traffic and reduced tire grip.
“We took a calculated risk, but it didn’t pan out for us,” O’Ward reflected. “Initially, we opted for our new red tires (alternate tires) because we were uncertain about the tire degradation. However, the black tires (primary tires) experienced a significant decline in performance towards the end of the race, ultimately rendering us unable to compete effectively.”
Palou achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first driver to secure victories in the first two races of the season since his teammate Scott Dixon achieved the same feat in 2020, en route to his sixth championship. Palou’s titles have been won in 2021, 2023, and 2024.
NTT P1 Award winner O’Ward dominated the race from the pole position, leading an impressive 51 out of the first 55 laps before relinquishing the top spot only during pit stops.
But O’Ward and 25 other drivers left Southern California empty-handed after Palou and his strategist, Barry Wanser, executed another masterful display of tactics and audacity. In the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, presented by RP Funding on March 2, Palou and Wanser made a strategic move to switch to alternate tires early in the race. Palou then executed flawless, lightning-fast laps, skillfully navigating around his final pit stop to secure victory.
The next race is the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, which will take place on Sunday, April 13 (4:30 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). A Spanish-language telecast will be available on FOX Deportes.
UPDATE 26/2/25
INDYCAR has imposed a penalty on the entry of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian Colton Herta in the No. 26 car for the The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix on Sunday, March 23.
- Andretti Global violated Rule 14.1.4, which states that approved suppliers must submit bulletins to INDYCAR for approval before releasing them to entries. Once approved, members are subject to enforcement by INDYCAR.
During the post-race technical inspection on Sunday, INDYCAR discovered that the team had incorrectly attached the anti-intrusion plates on the aft leg of the front lower wishbones. Instead of using two plates per side (a total of four), as mandated in a Dallara bulletin released on February 14, 2025, they had used only one plate per side.
The safety-inspired anti-intrusion plates were introduced to INDYCAR chassis following the 2015 practice incident involving driver James Hinchcliffe at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
According to the rulebook, this violation is considered a Non-Race Procedure Penalty (9.2.3.), which includes a monetary fine of $25,000 (9.2.3.2), the forfeiture of 10 championship entrant points (9.2.3.5), and the forfeiture of all prize money associated with the race at The Thermal Club.
The updated 2025 season entrant standings are available here.
Members may contest the imposition of these penalties and appeal through the review and appeal procedures outlined in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES rulebook.