Rasmussen Shows Everyone the Obvious About Alex Palou

Rasmussen’s recent shock win at the MM has everyone in IndyCar talking, and he’s used as a chance to point out the often unacknowledged obvious truth about the man currently dominating IndyCar. That Alex Palou is actually aggressive. The narrative that he’s only out there collecting points peacefully is false.

Palou vs. Rasmussen at Milwaukee!

Rasmussen was charging towards the 10 on fresher tires, going after that lead like a hungry predator seeing prey. But this prey animal wasn’t going down without a fight; after all, Palou was going for 3 for 4 on ovals this year, so he was going to have to use every trick in the book to get this win. Including diving to the inside on the back straightaway to keep Rasmussen to the outside, and he pinned him up there through turns three and four, and then down the front straightaway into turn one.

Now he gave him plenty of room and never went too close or too far, but it still goes against the peaceful and nonconfrontational image some of his fans have assigned him. One perpetuated by Palou since he always answers by saying he’s “thinking championship” every second he’s on the racetrack. But obviously, it takes being aggressive sometimes to become a champion. Since it wasn’t even the 1st time we’ve seen the defending champion be so aggressive this season.

Palou’s Winning Move at the Indy 500

Well before the Spaniard was dueling for the win with Rasmussen in Wisconsin, he was proving his doubters wrong yet again. The man who’s currently leading the oval standings before this year had to deal with fans saying he couldn’t get it done on ovals. Because he wasn’t aggressive enough to make that winning move, he didn’t have the will because he’s way too calculating. Something he proved wrong with 14 laps to go at the biggest race of the year. When Palou snuck up on Ericsson.

With 2 lap cars in the way of the Swede, the Spaniard dove to the inside, passed all 3 cars, and took that lead plus the Indy 500 win. Now it was 1 of the worst finishes in recent Indy 500 history, absolutely, but with how difficult it is to pass the current aero configuration, plus the added hybrid, while running in line? A move like that is not only impressive but also aggressive.

How This Makes Rasmussen’s Win More Impressive

It’s already impressive winning with Ed Carpenter Racing in 2025, but that’s only 1 aspect to this historic upset. Being able to in your 2nd season out battle a 3-time defending champion, giving it all with a beautiful move around the outside, keeping your foot in it while Palou does everything, even making contact with Rasmussen, but that didn’t deter him, and he got the lead. That shows serious potential, especially on ovals, from the former US F2000, Indy Pro 2000, and Indy NXT champion.

Alex Palou The Gorilla?!

Despite Palou playing to the misconception that he’s less aggressive than he actually is. That was all on accident, though; in reality, he knows he can be as aggressive as he can be, as seen with the animal he compares himself to. That being the ever-so-aggressive Gorilla. “I think [the gorilla] is an amazing animal, and they can be aggressive when they have to; they can be really calm when they don’t need to,” Palou told Beyond the Flag in early 2023. “That’s why!” It really is perfectly seen in Palou’s approach. Always remaining calm while getting aggressive when the situation calls for it.

The Future of Christian Rasmussen

The Dane, in his 2nd season, has currently improved the points position he finished in his rookie year. Improving from finishing 22nd in points to currently being in 12th. Going from having a single top 10 to having 6 top tens and 2 podiums, plus, of course, his 1st career win.

Rasmussen is reportedly on a multi-year deal, though I can’t find how many years it is. There are those like Veekay and Ferrucci who, despite their great talent, are currently perpetually stuck in midpack rides. But others like Newgarden and Castroneves used their great results on bad teams to get on better teams and win titles, and I hope Rasmussen gets the same chance they did. Thanks a bunch for reading!