Alex Palou sends a message after battling ‘tough conditions’ at IMS

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou opened up about his battle with the gusty winds at the track on Saturday, May 17, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He expressed his feelings after the Qualifying 1 session, which was held in preparation for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The 28-year-old drives the #10 Chip Ganassi car powered by Honda. He opened up about battling tough conditions on the track during the qualifying, where he placed first.

While in conversation with IndyCar staff reporter Paul Kelly, Palou detailed the tough conditions of the track while also highlighting his satisfaction with the car's performance.

"It’s tough conditions out there. Yesterday it was with the temperature; today it was with the wind. The car has been really good. We were struggling this morning (in practice). I was unable to finish a four-lap (qualifying simulation) run. Now we were able to finish it quite strongly," he said.

"Super happy. I don’t know if there’s more (speed in the car), but there’s always more. The line between more and too much is very thin here at IMS. We’ll see what we have for tomorrow,” Palou added.

The Spaniard put in a lap of 233.043 seconds and secured first place. He is currently attempting to get his second pole position at the Indy 500 after getting his maiden Indy 500 pole position in 2023.

Alex Palou's 2025 season is off to a great start as he won four out of the five Grand Prix this season, etching his name alongside some of the sport's greats. However, in all five of his Indianapolis 500 starts, the three-time champion has never won at the oval. He will look forward to changing that during his entry at the Greatest Spectacle of Racing this year.

Alex Palou speaks about an interesting discovery he made about the hybrid system

Alex Palou recently opened up about a discovery he made about the hybrid engines during the Open Testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The #10 car driver took part in the Indy 500 open test as part of preparation for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500, which will take place on May 25.

The hybrid engines were introduced last season at Mid-Ohio, and this marks the first full season where the hybrid system will be used. Numerous fans raised concerns about overtaking at the track, for which the Indy 500 is known. Some pointed out the issues about the vulnerability of the car as well.

While in conversation with RACER on their YouTube channel, Alex Palou addressed the issue and spoke about the positives of the hybrid system.

"So honestly, at the beginning when we started speaking about hybrids, and we started testing, I was like 'man on ovals it's not going to work, it's only regaining when you're off the brake'... On an oval and especially at the 500, we just need speed, speed, speed. As soon as you lose like one mile per hour, you probably lose one position. So, and then we tested, I think it was four cars, it was Andretti, Penske, McLaren, and us early last year, and it was amazing," he explained (10:55 onwards).

"It was super fun, we get so much tow that actually you release the throttle a lot, you can recharge. And then the one that is P1 or even P2, if they're not timing it right and they are not getting enough energy, they don't have as much power... It's going to be quite easier, a little bit easier to overtake even if you're fourth in line," Alex Palou added.