Palou hungry for more success at the Indy 500: “I still need to win.”

Credit: Matt Fraver

Álex Palou has shown no signs of resting on his 2025 victory at the Indianapolis 500, as he topped Tuesday’s practice session with a fastest lap at 225.937mph.

As the champion, Palou’s schedule has become “a lot busier, a lot busier with media and just everything that comes with it.”

However, he also said that being the champion is “just a lot more fun as well with the fans, like the love and support that you get from them, it's a lot higher than what I experienced before, so yeah, love it.”

Álex Palou was the runner up in the 2021 Indianapolis 500, losing the lead at Turn 1 on Lap 199 as Helio Castroneves stormed around him. After an ill-timed caution in 2022 and a crash in pitlane in 2023 denied him two clear opportunities to win, he finally achieved his dream and won the race in 2025.

Palou wants to build on that experience, enjoying the ceremony that comes with being the champion whilst also reminding himself to keep winning.

Credit: Chris Owens

“Although I won last year, I still need to win and I still need to perform. You cannot just be like, oh yeah, I won in 2025, you know, like I'm going to take it easy.”

“At the end of the day I feel like they only pay us to win, that's our only job as drivers.”

“I think the pressure is still there, maybe it's a bit different, probably the pressure that I put on myself, maybe it's a bit less of like, okay, we got one, we need more and I want more, but maybe it's not like I need [another], you know. Tough to describe but for sure it changes a bit.”

Álex Palou enters the Indianapolis 500 as both the defending IndyCar champion and the current points leader, 23 points ahead of Kyle Kirkwood.

Palou has won three of the first five races this season and led last weekend’s Sonsio Grand Prix, until a caution sent him back into the pack. He eventually recovered to fifth, extending his championship lead by fifteen points as Kirkwood finished ninth.

Credit: Joe Skibinski

However, the importance of the Indianapolis 500 means that Palou has put thoughts of a fourth consecutive IndyCar championship to the back of his mind.

When asked if points were a consideration he said: “not at all, zero. We take it more like a separate event.”

“Obviously once you're in the race, if you're seventh, you're not just going to be like, well, I don't care about this and I'm just going to throw the car into the fence, because it's still points, it still counts the same points as any other race.”

“If you're like P1, P2, P3, you don't care about the points, like you will go for it and if you end up in the fence because you're trying to go for an Indy 500 win, who cares.”

“It's not in our minds, but at the end of the day, we also need to be conscious about championships.”