Alex Palou was sculpted for the Indy 500 trophy

Now a four-time champion IndyCarÁlex Palou continues to experience an intense offseason, between celebrating his title and his victory at the Indianapolis 500 last May. Like all the winners of the race, the Spanish driver's face will be added to the Borg-Warner Trophy, created in 1936. Palou's face will be the 111th silver one added to the trophy, which also features at its center the face of Tony Hulman, the man who resurrected the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1940s. Hulman's face is the only one sculpted in 24-karat gold.

Palou visited William Behrends at the end of last week to discover a clay version of his effigy, which the sculptor was also able to work on in the presence of his model. Behrends has been sculpting the faces of Indy 500 winners since 1990, and since 2015, each winner has come to visit him so that the effigy that will be affixed to the Borg-Warner Trophy at the end of the year is as faithful as possible.

“It’s really great, honestly.”, said Palou. “It’s crazy to know that my face will be forever etched on this trophy. It’s something I’ve never experienced before. When you win championships, you see your name etched on trophies and in different places, but you never see your face on a trophy as impressive as this one, full of history. This is by far the best. Knowing that I’ll be able to come to the track museum in 40 or 50 years, or wherever this trophy is, and see my face and hopefully remember the moments I had this year, makes it really special. I know my name and face will be there forever.”

After sculpting the face of Josef Newgarden for two consecutive years, the first driver in over twenty years to win the Indy 500 twice in a row, William Behrends enjoyed being able to focus on a new face, that of Catalan Álex Palou.

“I like challenges.”, Behrends said. “So, doing the same face two years in a row is definitely a challenge. But I always like working on a new face. You just have to study it, and his is very interesting. I complimented him on his nose, and he said, ‘It runs in the family.’ He thinks it’s big, but I think it’s very distinctive.”

With the final adjustments now made, the sculptor will begin sculpting the silver effigy that will be unveiled at the end of the year or early 2026 on the Borg-Warner Trophy. The latter will be on display most of the year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, and occasionally on tour throughout the United States or around the world.

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