How Alex Palou Won His Fourth Championship

Palou’s 2025 season was not only the best of his career, but it was also one of the most successful seasons in the modern era of IndyCar. It seemed like every race Palou was winning or going to win, his consistency, race craft, and speed were unmatchable for the majority of the season, and it showed.

Victories Galore

Last year, Palou won the title with two wins on the season; this year, he surpassed that number by race four. He kicked off the season run with back-to-back wins on the streets of St Petersburg and Thermal Club. Palou was back in the win column in Alabama, kicking off a 3-race win streak that included the Indianapolis 500.

The Spaniard grabbed three more victories from rounds seven through 15, at Road America, Iowa Race 2, and Laguna Seca. Four of Palou’s victories have come from starting on pole; the other four were from second, third, sixth, and eighth.

Palou’s dominance allowed only four other drivers on the top step this season. Kyle Kirkwood won three, two for Pato O’Ward and one each for Scott Dixon and Will Power.

Laguna Seca gave Palou his eighth win in 14 races this season. Only three drivers in the sport’s history – A.J. Foyt in 1964, Al Unser in 1970, and Mario Andretti in 1969 – have won more races in a single year. Foyt and Unser hold the season record with 10 wins. Andretti had nine. Palou is one of six drivers with eight wins, the first since Sebastien Bourdais in 2007.

Indianapolis 500

Entering the season, there was one thing Palou had yet to do, and that was win on an oval. This year, he finally achieved it, and it couldn’t have come at a better time, at easily the best race possible.

After winning the first two races in the month of May, only one remained, the Indianapolis 500, “the greatest spectacle in racing.” 

Palou started 6th on the grid, and after a chaotic afternoon full of cautions and different strategies, he took the lead during the late stages of the race with only 15 laps to go. He was able to hold back Marcus Ericsson and David Malukas to win the 109th Indianapolis 500. earning his first oval race and first trip to Kissing the Bricks.

Palou made history as the first Spaniard to win the Indy 500. With the title, he became the 30th driver to win the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and the championship in the same season, the first since Dario Franchitti in 2010.

At that point, this win was fifth out of six races, and it earned him 58 points, giving him an extra cushion on top of his already comfortable championship lead. And while the IndyCar season is long and anything can happen, this race seemed to solidify that Palou was untouchable this season.

Consistency 

Even when he isn’t winning, Palou seems to consistently find his way into the conversation. In 15 races, he has had 11 podiums, 12 Top-five finishes, and 13 top-10 finishes.

He’s finished outside of the top 10 twice. The first in Detroit, finishing 25th after an incident that put him into the wall. The other time was in Toronto due to a poor strategy call that put him 12th. His other non-podium finishes were an 8th at Gateway and a fifth at Iowa race 1.

Another consistency that we saw from the Spaniard was tracks. No matter what type of track, whether it was street, road, or oval, Palou seemed to be in contention. Palou won two ovals and one street course. His most successful surface was the road course. He had five wins, a runner-up at Mid-Ohio, and a third in Portland. He ended with a 1.42 finishing average on road courses.