IndyCar Champion Alex Palou Talks About His Best Season Yet, F1 Chatter, And The Truck Series In St. Pete

There are very few seasons in the history of IndyCar as good as the one Alex Palou just wrapped up this past weekend.

The now four-time champion won eight races, including the Indianapolis 500, and nearly tied Al Unser and AJ Foyt's single-season win record of 10 wins, had it not been for a pair of second-place finishes to wrap up the season in Milwaukee and Nashville.

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While the driver of the No. 10 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing is no stranger to the Astor Cup — awarded to the NTT IndyCar Series champion — Palou told me on Monday that this was by far the best season of his career.

A career that is already among the best in the history of the series.

"This has been the best so far," Palou said. "I mean, it's been incredible. I think every single season keeps on getting better. The fact that I've been able to enjoy three championships before this allowed me to even enjoy more this one, just because I was able to relax, be a bit more relaxed, to enjoy every single moment." 

"And, yeah, it's been a lot of fun," he continued. "I think the success that we had on track made it obviously super special."

Alex Palou's fourth-championship got the Formula 1 rumor mill turning, but Palou said he's more than happy in IndyCar. (© Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Palou's Success Is Getting Global Attention And Turning The Formula 1 Rumor Mill

This season allowed Palou to showcase that he's a champion who can win on any kind of track the series throws at him. While the 28-year-old from Spain was always a road and street course ace, this season he showed what he can do on ovals by winning at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway, two very different kinds of tracks.

That success and the surgical-like precision with which he races have gotten Palou a lot of attention globally, including in Formula 1. This led to rumors that Red Bull was considering him as a potential teammate for four-time F1 champ Max Verstappen, but these rumors were shot down by all parties involved, including Palou himself.

While he acknowledged that these rumors are flattering, he said it was disappointing that more of that attention didn't go toward the title he and his team had locked up.

"I don't understand where it came from, like this last couple of weeks," he said. "It was a little bit of a shame. Normally, I don't really care. I think it's actually good to get more people talking about us, the series, and myself, but yeah, maybe these past weeks, I would have preferred people to talk about our fourth championship than just rumors around other series. 

"But I mean, it's, it's good people. You people are, maybe, excited, or would like to be excited about seeing me somewhere else, but honestly, I'm really good where I am."

I asked Palou if this meant he had no interest in jumping to F1 and potentially helping a team fight for P8 in the constructors' standings as opposed to winning races and championships in IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing.

"That doesn't sound very appealing to me at the moment; no," he said.

Palou capped off his fourth championship with some donuts at Nashville Superspedway. (© Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Palou Says He'd Be Interested In Trying His Hand At The NASCAR Truck Series… Just Not On An IndyCar Weekend

Still, one of the great things about motorsports is how drivers from one series can try their hand at another series. For instance, Palou, in addition to his IndyCar schedule, has hopped in sports cars and competed in some of the biggest races out there, like the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

So, with the news that the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will race in St. Petersburg on the same weekend as the IndyCar season opener, does that mean Palou would consider pulling double duty?

"Not really, honestly, not really," he said. "I would consider (doing the Truck Series race) if it was the week before or the week after. I would 100% consider it. I think I would really like to do that, but being the same weekend, I don't think it would be a good idea."

Palou pointed to the rigors of having an IndyCar race the same weekend as a reason why doubling up might not be the best idea.

"I think that would take a little bit of focus (away from) my job, and I would not like to do that," he continued. "But if there's another chance where I'm able to do it on a separate weekend that doesn't conflict with anything in the car, I would, for sure, consider."

So — in the words of Lloyd Christmas — you're telling me there's a chance… just not this year.

Palou said that he's looking forward to the offseason, which he'll spend with his family. But, before we know it, IndyCar will be back with the season opener in St. Pete on March 1. Two weeks later, the series will head to Texas for the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington — which Palou told me he thinks will become one of IndyCar's biggest events — on March 15.