Scott Dixon found a ‘pleasantly surprising’ moment about Alex Palou after the latter’s Mid-Ohio mistake

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon recently spoke about the race at Mid-Ohio. He won the race after a rare mistake cost his teammate, Alex Palou, the victory.

The New Zealander drives for the #9 Chip Ganassi Racing car powered by Honda. During the race at Mid-Ohio, the 44-year-old took victory after his teammate Alex Palou ran wide at Turn 9. This mistake allowed Dixon to take the lead in the race during the last few laps.

While talking to the media during the press conference, the kiwi driver was questioned about what was going on in his mind when he saw his teammate loose the lead of the race. He said, (via ASAP Sports)

"Well, on the approach to 9, I saw the dust and I was like, oh, maybe that's a lap car or something because there's been some times in these sessions where the dust has actually been lingering in the air. You come through 1, there's a load of dust and then you don't even see the car that's in front."

"I didn't know if it was him, and then obviously I see it's a black car. He's had multiple colors this year, so it's always hard to figure out, and I saw that he was kind of struggling to get going. Hate to say it, but pleasantly surprised when I saw that he was rejoining the track." Scott Dixon added

Dixon finished the race 0.4201 seconds ahead of Palou. He led 11 laps of the race after starting his race in ninth place.

So far Dixon has had a decent start to his 2025 season, as he qualified in sixth place at the first race of the season at St.Petersburg Grand Prix and finished the race in second place. During the recently held XPEL Grand Prix at Road America held on June 22, he qualified in 25th place and finished the race in 9th place.

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Scott Dixon talks about his 'it's just another race' mindset

The New Zealander recently spoke about his mindset going into each race during the season, the Indianapolis 500 included. He appeared on the show Java with James, hosted by James Hinchcliffe on the IndyCar YouTube channel, where he spoke about the same.

The six-time IndyCar Series champion spoke about the ups and downs that the drivers experience throughout the season. He said,

“I think they’re all pretty similar, but factors for sure,” Dixon said about the pressure of race day. “Indy 500, you always go into this mindset, it's just another race. Well, we all know it's not just another race... All your mates are flowing in, all the family is here, you know, sponsors, whatever it is." (7:30 onwards)

“So yeah, you know it's like most of the season, right? The emotional roller coaster is very up and down, but there are more stressful moments. But as the saying goes, that's a privilege, you know, we're lucky to be in that moment to be able to try and achieve something really cool and do it together," Scott Dixon added.

Scott Dixon is currently sitting in fourth place in the drivers' championship with 282 points.