Alex Palou wins again at Thermal

How to stop Alex Palou? This is certainly the question most of the peloton must be asking themselves after the Spaniard's second victory in as many races this season. The three-time champion IndyCar beat the two Arrows McLaren of Pato O'Ward and Christian Lundgaard, who had spent a large majority of the race at the front.

In the first IndyCar race to be held without a caution since 2020, Palou, as usual, played a strategic game to perfection to claim his thirteenth victory in the category. Starting on a set of worn soft tires, the Catalan knew he would have to use a new set late in the race to comply with the rules. Faced with the hard tires of the two Arrow McLarens, Palou overcame an eight-second deficit to win by ten seconds over the previously dominant O'Ward.

Colton Herta (Andretti) and Felix Rosenqvist (Meyer Shank Racing) completed the top five ahead of an excellent Will Power (Team Penske). "Captain" Roger Penske's team had a disastrous weekend, with three eliminations in Q5. However, during the race, two of its drivers managed to recover, with Josef Newgarden finishing thirteenth. The third member of Team Penske, Scott McLaughlin, was forced to retire after being hit before the start by Devlin DeFrancesco (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing).

IndyCar remains in California for the third round of the championship, in three weeks on the streets of Long Beach.

Grand Prix de Thermal – Ranking

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