Five takeaways: Milwaukee Mile 250

Credit: Joe Skibinski

In what was yet another fabulous weekend of IndyCar racing and one that gave us a maiden winner for the first time since 2021, Christian Rasmussen’s remarkable race win is not the only thing to take from this week.

It was one of chaos and cautions and would eventually be decided by a daring Dane on fresh tyres. With tyre degradation deciding a large portion of the race it became another where the fastest teams and most daring of drivers would come to the forefront.

Joining Rasmussen on the podium would be 2025 Series Champion Álex Palou who had his self-confessed best result of the season. In third came Scott McLaughlin with only his second podium of the season as he was able to continue Team Penske’s improved end to the season.

1. Siegel’s overeagerness is catching up on him 

Credit: Paul Hurley

Another weekend, another incident for Nolan Siegel.  

The young American from Palo Alto has struggled in his first full season. Every time he takes a step forward it feels like he takes another two steps back. Whilst he has had weekends such as Barber and Road America where he looked right on pace, the rest of the season has been more of a crash course than a learning curve.

It is quite unfortunate really as it's clear that he has potential to be a very talented driver. Where it has gone wrong is his speed by which his career skyrocketed over the past few years. Instead of taking time to progress up the racing ladder and adapt to each new challenge, it feels as if he has been thrown into the deep end without knowing how to swim. 

Rushing a fresh and inexperienced driver into such a high pressure environment at an early age always had the potential to blow up in the faces of Arrow McLaren bosses and so far it has.

Where his teammates will both finish the season in the top five of the Drivers Championship, 

Siegel sits 22nd in the standings with a best result of eighth. Paired with a total of 11 races outside the Top 15 it is simply not good enough. 

Regardless of this, Arrow McLaren have made the choice to retain his services for next season which despite having highlighted some of the more negative aspects of his year is good to see. 

It is clear Siegel has talent, time to reflect and focus on a next year which will prove crucial in deciding how the rest of his career unfolds.

2. Malukas’ misfortune continues

   
   

Credit: Paul Hurley

2025 to this point has been a story of what could have been for David Malukas. It feels unfair to say he had only picked up a single podium this season given the pace that he has shown.

Granted, runner up for the Indianapolis 500 is nothing to turn your nose up at. Besides from that though his luck has been rotten. Indy onward, Malukas has qualified in the top ten in all but two of the events. In the races however, it has been a contrasting tale as he has only finished in the Top Ten in four out of those ten races.

His season could be defined by two races. Firstly Road America where he would end up in the gravel on the opening lap and require assistance to even get back onto the track. With that being said, miraculously he would end up finishing an incredible seventh climbing 20 places in the remaining laps.

The second of which would be last weekend. Having had yet another superb qualifying performance to put him on the front row Malukas would proceed to overtake Palou to take the lead on the second restart in a daring manoeuvre around the outside of Turn Two.

He would continue there for the majority of the first stint before Palou inevitably retook the position. Withstanding this, Malukas would not drop outside of the podium positions for the opening two stints. All of which would unfortunately be undone by a faulty wheelgun at his second pitstop that saw him go from third to 17th and a lap down. 

For most in that situation it would be race over. The Chicago-born driver would not let that be his fate. The first task was to get his lap back, he did it. He would still be 17th and at the rear of the pack for that matter. In the closing laps with all the focus was deservingly placed on Rasmussen’s charge to the front, Malukas quietly went unnoticed as he continued to make progress all the way up to eighth where he would eventually finish.

Whilst looking at only the results it may not have seemed like a particularly impressive race, his performance far outweighed what it would show on a piece of paper. Consistently fast, and becoming more and more reliable as he cements himself in the series it is no surprise he is touted to make the move to Team Penske at the end of the season.

That has been the discourse all year, is he ready for it? Based on this weekend alone you'd be hard pressed to prove he is not. Especially given the way his competition Will Power’s race panned out. 

3. Possible farewell tour for Palou?…

Credit: Joe Skibinski 

It seems only the weather gods are able to stop Palou.

Up until the untimely intervention of the race’s final caution it looked to be yet another race where Palou would put the rest of the grid in their place. Other than the initial overtake by Malukas on the second restart - which would soon be rectified as Palou would get back past not long after - the Spaniard dominated the race. 

He had done so for most of the weekend in fact as despite a moment in opening practice, he would turn two masterful qualifying laps to put him on pole for the sixth time this season. Having already won the Championship last time out at Portland he had nothing to lose. Many in that situation would have perhaps taken their foot off the throttle with the intensity of battling for the highest honour out of the picture.

Not Palou. It is simply not in his DNA. In fact Milwaukee was arguably his most complete performance on an oval to date, comfortably fastest with no clear competition until the intervention of rain. 

He certainly agreed with that evaluation; “But it was an amazing day for us. Didn’t lead the lap that really counted… anyway, I thought it was my best race on an oval, even though we didn’t win.”

Whilst he is a driver that wants to win everything at all costs, his approach is measured and meticulous in the way he controls a car. He very rarely makes mistakes, and if they do occur is able to bounce back with minimal fuss. 

Things like that are what makes a champion and are also what other teams - especially those in Formula One - will look for in a driver. Whilst Chip Ganassi himself has openly dismissed any move away from his team for 2026 it is no shock the rumours have reared of the Spaniard being linked to the famed second seat at Red Bull Racing.

It was some of the biggest news coming from this weekend as despite constant links to Formula One over the season, this appears to be the most likely way it would happen. Palou has always brushed off any rumours of a move away from IndyCar as he is against the idea of going from being in a position where he is able to win to a backmarker, or some midfield team where he may not have the tools to show his talent.

That is not Red Bull. The team who have been the car to power Max Verstappen to four Drivers’ Championships in a row would give Palou a chance to win. Whilst the car has not been the most competitive this year, the 2026 regulations could offer a major opportunity for them to claw their way back to the front. 

It would also simultaneously give Palou an almost-even playing field as everyone would start again from square one. Yes, every driver to go up against Verstappen to this point has struggled. However, the qualities that Palou has already demonstrated throughout his career in maintaining calmness in uncertainty paired with lightning fast pace that has come leaps and bounds could prove the winning formula for Red Bull if they manage to steal the Spaniard.

4. Rasmussen’s on the edge style pays off

Credit: Joe Skibinksi

What a difference a fortnight can make. This time last week Christian Rasmussen was still reeling from the backlash received over his incident in Portland with Conor Daly. Fast forward a week and the “Christian Rasmussen you are a race winner” would be blared out on Television sets around the globe. This goes to prove that in motorsport, you are only as good as your last result.

If you were to venture into Rasmussen’s past results though the standout would be his performance so far on ovals. It was after all where he secured his first career podium earlier this season in St Louis. 

There is something about the Dane’s all out attack attitude that lends itself to mastering the ovals and that is exactly what happened last weekend. It was one of the finest examples of ‘on the edge’ driving you're ever likely to see.

That is what makes him so entertaining and electric behind the wheel is something that comes from being willing to risk his own race every lap. It has been his shortcoming this season as mixed with misfortune, mistakes have crept in. 

You would only need to go back to last weekend for a perfect example of this. Running well inside the top ten he would pick up a penalty for speeding in the pitlane. Whilst he was able to make up those positions with an incredible charge through the field, that won't always be the case. Errors such as those are ones you don't see from drivers like Palou so if Rasmussen wants to stake a claim for the Drivers Championship then things like that really need to be cleaned up.

That being said, he is only in his second year as a full time driver and mistakes will happen. As they start to wean off as he becomes a more established and confident driver, the consistent results will come. 

Rasmussen’s performances have been so impressive that he is yet to finish an oval race this season lower than eighth. Bizarrely enough, in only one of those races he had started in the top ten. That being last weekend, which he won…

If he is able to continue converting his raw pace into brilliant results then Ed Carpenter has a serious contender on his hands for next year.

5. Race direction have learnt from caution calamity

Credit: Joe Skibinski

Another success story other than Rasmussen’s this weekend was that race control seemingly learnt their lesson from the shocking scenes of Laguna Seca. 

Where that race the fans were left questioning decisions made to withhold the deployment of multiple cautions, this time around it was smooth sailing as race control was quick to act in waiving the yellows.

The incident that captured this the best was on Lap Nine where at the opening restart, Graham Rahal over committed to Turn 1 and would lose control of his car. Whilst he was able to regather it with some masterful car control the smart decision was made to deploy a caution for safety as it was by no means clear that would not escalate.

When a car is broadside across the track and in a vulnerable position that is the only scenario that should occur if not only for driver safety.

The rest of the race ran smoothly as there would be only a few more incidents and interruption by rain where interjection would be necessary.