Alex Palou settles major IndyCar vs F1 debate: "It's a different mindset”

Chip Ganassi Racing star Alex Palou recently came out as he detailed the different racing and overtaking styles in IndyCar and F1. The Spaniard explained the reason behind the huge difference in the overtaking statistics between the series.

F1 is known as the pinnacle of motorsports, yet some criticize the sport for the lack of overtakes and entertainment. F1 introduced the new ground effect regulations in 2022 to allow drivers to follow the cars closer through high-speed corners and reduce the effect of the dirty air. Yet, the F1 overtaking stats are nowhere near IndyCar.

Unlike F1, which is an open series, IndyCar is a spec series, meaning all teams run the same chassis, which neutralizes the grid and leaves a lot up to the driver's skill. However, in F1, since all teams develop the cars from scratch by themselves, there are performance gaps.

Alex Palou appeared on the SpeedFreaks YouTube channel, where the CGR driver was asked whether he might get bored during an F1 race, given the limited overtaking opportunities compared to the 60-70 overtakes in the American open-wheel racing series.

Alex Palou detailed how the battle in IndyCar is on track, whereas the driver's feedback in F1 helped develop the car in F1, which is where the battle in the car performance index kicks in. He said,

“I mean, yeah, it's a different mindset. I think when you are in NASCAR or in IndyCar, you expect to be battling hard. It's hard battles all the time, non-stop. When you go to F1, though, you don't have that. And everybody knows that you don't have that. You don't have those battles on track normally.” (1:14:40 onwards)

Alex Palou explained how overtaking is aided by the DRS (Drag Reduction System) in F1, but that those overtakes happen in the straight, which aren't fun. Instead of overtaking where one needs to out-brake a driver, or going around the outside, these are exciting. Detailing the mindset in F1, he added

“But what they do is they develop those cars. So maybe it's more of a, okay, I have this car and I need to develop, I need to have the team develop and be a little bit better than the other team.”

“We might not fight directly on track side by side, but we're fighting to have a better car and a better team. So I think the mindset is different. It's just a different style. But yeah, I love what we have here, for sure,” added Alex Palou

When FOX CEO took a shot at F1 with IndyCar's overtaking data

FOX CEO Eric Shanks came out ahead of the 2025 IndyCar season’s first race at St. Pete and detailed how he expects more lead changes at the season opener than F1 has during the whole season. He said,

“The racing will be extremely exciting. The league already has an incredible, exciting, fast product on track. I'm looking for more passes for this lead in this one race than Formula One will have all season - that's a true stat, by the way,” (via an exclusive interview with Puck.)

During the 2025 IndyCar season, a total of 5928 overtakes were made, out of which 4060 were for a position. The 23-race-long 2024 F1 season, in comparison, only had 788 passes.