Alex Palou captures fifth INDYCAR title in six years in disappointing day at Monterey
- Jeffrey Hrunka
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor
Monterey, CA -It’s rare that Alex Palou has a bad day at the racetrack. It's even more surprising when it's at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, a circuit where he has found so much success in the past. A difficult adjustment to a four-stop strategy saw Palou fall through the pack in Sunday's Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey.
Fortunately, he was able to rally back for an eighth-place finish.
“It's tough, man. It's tough to win even when you have nothing to lose,” Palou said. “You gamble that way.”
Palou started his day on the front row, quickly settling behind eventual winner Scott McLaughlin, driver of No.3 Team Penske Chevrolet, on the opening laps. However, when put on his used alternate tire for his second stint of the race, he quickly fell down the order, being passed by Alexander Rossi, driver of the No.21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, and barely holding off David Malukas, driver of the No.12 Team Penske Chevrolet.
With nothing to lose, he attempted to remedy the issue by switching from the alternates to a used set of primaries. That shot him down the order, where he stagnated with how difficult it was to pass.
After 12 laps, he dove down pit road again, put on fresh primaries to cycle back with the rest of the field. On a level playing field, Palou drove through the field to recover for an eighth-place finish.
"Today we kind of made some mistakes on our tire decisions," he said. "We wanted to gamble a little bit. It didn't pay out."
Heading into Laguna Seca, Palou already knew he had locked up the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship. Even with the safety net, it doesn’t take away from the frustration at losing an opportunity to win in Monterey.
“Just disappointed we didn't make the right decision in the race,” Palou said. “We started on used alternates, and we kind of survived, but then we went on another used alternates. We, like, killed ourselves there.”
While several drivers were still in the championship fight in the lead-up to the doubleheader at The Milwaukee Mile Speedway last weekend, Palou's dominance was unmatched this season, leading the series in several categories: wins, laps led, top-5s, top-10s, average start and average finish, to name a few.
However, for someone so used to dominating, this season was a little underwhelming compared to what the Spaniard has been able to achieve over the last two years.
“Obviously, last year we were able to win the [Indianapolis] 500 and the championship. If I didn't compare it to last year, this year was just insane. Was so fun.”
Palou joins A.J. Foyt and Scott Dixon, driver of the No.9 Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) Honda, as the only three drivers in series history to have five or more INDYCAR championships. He also stands alongside Sebastian Bourdais as the only driver to win four consecutive championships. Bourdais accomplished this feat from 2004 to 2007 in the CART/Champ Car Series.
“I've been saying it for years now; I still cannot believe the position I am in. The opportunity to start every single year with the chances and the best team around me, and best partners to fight for wins and championships,” Palou said. “Last year was magical. I thought it could not be repeated.”
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Mission Foods Grand Prix of Monterey Results:
Scott McLaughlin #3 - (WINNER)
Kyle Kirkwood #27 -1.374s
Alexander Rossi #20 -2.811s
Felix Rosenqvist #60 -5.289s
David Malukas #12 -14.588s
Chrisitan Lundgaard #7 -16.5s
Marcus Armstrong #66 -21.813s
Alex Palou #10 -28.044s
Marcus Ericsson #28 -40.226s
Kyffin Simpson #8 -40.768s
Pato O’Ward #5 -43.021s
Santino Ferrucci #14 -43.747s
Will Power #26 -49.354s
Louis Foster #45 -53.405s
Josef Newgarden #2 -55.103s
Rinus VeeKay #76 -55.73s
Scott Dixon #9 -57.624s
Romain Grosjean #18 -1:00.692s
Graham Rahal #15 -1:04.668s
Caio Collet #4 (R) -1:08.174s
Christian Rasmussen #21 -1:09.127s
Mick Schumacher #47 (R) -1:10.771s
Sting Ray Robb #77 -1 lap down
Nolan Siegel #6 -1 lap down
Dennis Hauger #19 (R) -95 laps down (Incident)
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES will kick off its 2027 season in St. Petersburg, Florida, for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Fans will have to wait until March 7, 2027, for INDYCAR action to return on the streets of St. Petersburg.
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