Alex Palou gets honest about big "weakness" despite dominantly winning 4th IndyCar title

Chip Ganassi Racing star Alex Palou secured the 2025 IndyCar championship at the Portland Grand Prix, earning his fourth IndyCar title. The Spaniard spoke after the race in Portland, sharing his biggest weakness despite having a commanding lead in the championship.

Alex Palou entered the 2025 season as the defending champion and a top contender for the title. The CGR driver opened the season with a win at St. Pete, followed by seven more victories before the Portland Grand Prix. He also achieved his first-ever Indianapolis 500 win this year.

Palou secured the championship with two races remaining in the season as his main rival, Pato O'Ward, faced an electrical issue at Portland while leading the race. Despite his dominant performance, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver believes there's still something he needs to improve on, which is ovals.

Despite being a three-time champion entering the 2025 season, Alex Palou had never won a race on an oval. However, everything changed when the Spaniard took victory in the marquee event of the IndyCar season, the Indy 500, earning his place among the oval race winners.

Palou then went on to win another oval race at the second event at Iowa Speedway. After securing his fourth championship, the Spaniard appeared on FOX’s First Things First show. The host suggested that ovals were Alex’s weakness going into 2025, and he has checked that box with two wins this season. He then asked what is something that CGR looks to improve in his skillset.

“This year was my first ever win at an oval, at the Indy 500, actually, and then another win at Iowa at the short oval. So, we kind of ticked it, but I wouldn't say it's a full tick. I think it's still my weakness. Like it's where I struggle to feel 100% with the car, to know exactly what I need from the car to go a little bit faster. So that's what I need to work on the most, I need to work on short ovals and see if we can be a little bit stronger there.” (7:23 onwards)

Alex Palou reveals what “drives” him to “chase perfection”

Alex Palou is known as the Surgeon in the IndyCar paddock for his precise and decisive driving style, leaving no room for error. After winning his fourth title, the Spaniard spoke out and shared the factors that motivate him in his pursuit of perfection. He said,

“I just love to work on myself and try and analyze what I’ve done, and after this weekend, I’ll go back and see, how can I avoid doing that mistake in qualifying or pass those cars better, and then we’ll be a bit stronger. That’s what drives me. Trying to be better every day, trying to chase that perfection that you know is not possible, but you’re trying to chase that anyways.” (Via Indystar)

Unlike the other top drivers in IndyCar, Alex Palou has hardly made a mistake this season, with only a couple of errors, such as the crash at the Detroit GP and the wide moment at Mid-Ohio, which allowed Scott Dixon to take the win.