"I almost ended up in the wall": Alex Palou reveals unseen Indy 500 struggles in final showdown with Marcus Ericsson

Alex Palou became the 76th driver to win the Indy 500 on Sunday, May 25, with a heroic effort to land his breakthrough oval victory at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He overtook Marcus Ericsson for the race lead with 15 laps to go and held his own to win his fifth race of 2025. However, his race nearly ended before that pivotal pass on Ericsson.

In a post-race interview with The Race, Palou explained how his Andretti Global rival had newer tires. Ericsson made his last pit stop on lap 175, while Palou did on lap 168 - a difference of 7 laps.

"I would've liked to wait a bit more (to make the pass), but I knew Marcus has more fuel and better tires than us... like 10 laps (newer). So for us, I knew it was just getting tougher and tougher every lap, like the tires are really good for 10 laps, then they drop quite a lot. Also, having that (lapped) traffic (ahead) of us, we knew that they were gonna play a big role in the game."

Alex Palou also shared that his No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was struggling to exit Turn 4 well. That also caused him to nearly lose it in the two laps leading up to the final pass.

"It was tough. If you see the onboards of the previous two laps, I almost ended up in the wall just trying to get a really good run out of 4. I just got like super wide, super wide, and I was just gonna have one or two more chances before the front tires say 'Bye, bye'. So yeah, I am glad it worked during that time."

On Monday, IndyCar announced penalties after post-race technical inspections of three cars. Marcus Ericsson, who was inconsolable after finishing runner-up, was one of them and pushed to P31 as his final result.

Alex Palou compares his Indy 500 win to his IndyCar championship

Alex Palou and his CGR team celebrate with the Borg-warner trophy after winning the 109th Indy 500 - Source: Getty

Going into the 109th Indy 500, Alex Palou was asked about his dominant run and if he'd expect it to continue into the biggest race of the year. While the Spaniard admitted that his run would likely end at the IMS, the thought of a magical continuation didn't leave his mind.

Palou had also declared that his racing career would be incomplete if he never won the Indy 500, irrespective of how many IndyCar championships he won. However, after he won the 'Greatest Spectacle of Racing', he had conquered it all.

The 28-year-old compared the win to his past successes, saying, via ASAP Sport:

"It's tough to compare. Where I rank emotionally, I would say the best I've ever been and the best I've ever felt, and I'm comparing, like, all days of my entire life. Where does this rank compared to championships and stuff? I think it's tough. It's very tough to compare. But I'm glad that I got one. It just feels amazing."

Alex Palou will enter the Detroit Grand Prix from May 30 to June 1, eyeing his sixth win in seven races. Though the Chip Ganassi Racing driver didn't finish in the Top 10 at Detroit last year, he won in 2023.