Palou on Dixon's Ganassi departure: "I would not be here today without him"

Credit: Chris Jones

Álex Palou's six year tenure as Scott Dixon's teammate will come to an end at the conclusion of 2026, after this week's news that the six-time IndyCar champion will leave Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of the year after 25 years with the team. Following Friday practice at Mid-Ohio, Palou reflected on Dixon's departure from the team.

"Yeah, it's sad," Palou said of Dixon's impending departure. "It's sad because of what he has done for the team, for everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing. I've not been here since the beginning, but I know I would not be here today.

"Very sad, but at the same time, it's okay. It's just part of life. It's part of the sport. I wish him the best. I'm going to try and keep on learning as much as I can throughout the races that we still have. I think it's been incredible to be his teammate, and I'm sure the next drivers that will be sharing teams with him, they're going to be very lucky."

Palou moved to Chip Ganassi Racing prior to the 2021 season after impressing in his rookie season with Dale Coyne Racing. He has been Dixon's teammate ever since, in a period that has saw the Spaniard claim four IndyCar championships, an Indianapolis 500 victory and have an unprecedented level of success for modern-day IndyCar standards.

Palou's success has been so great that even his six-time champion teammate has struggled to keep pace, with 2022 being the only season in which Dixon beat Palou in the final points standings. In their tenure as teammates, Palou has claimed a remarkable 23 wins in comparison to Dixon's nine.

It makes being Palou's teammate the ultimate test of any driver and an uphill challenge for anybody wishing to win an IndyCar championship in the same team as the Spaniard. That said, Dixon has re-affirmed that Palou's success has not been a factor into his decision.

In fact, Palou reflects back on his first season with Dixon in a way that he hopes his new teammate will look at him.

"When I had the opportunity to be teammates with Scott, it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. First you have no pressure because you're going against the best and you can learn as much as you can.

"I think a teammate that is my teammate can see everything that I do and can learn as much as he wants from me, can drive the same car that I drive. I think it's an opportunity that a lot of people want. They always want to compare themselves or drive the same car than the person that is winning."

Credit: Dominic Loyer

Both Palou and teammate Kyffin Simpson are expected to return in 2027 and although Dixon's replacement remains unconfirmed, Palou will become the longest-tenured driver with the team once the New Zealander leaves the team at the end of the season.

Many may assume that Palou now inherits a 'team leader' responsibility within the organisation, but the culture at Chip Ganassi Racing means that it's not a task Palou believes he necessarily has to fulfil.

"Scott has done an incredible job for the team, but at the same time, the way that this team operates, it's very open. Since day one I had the same amount of saying as Scott, as Jimmie [Johnson] when he was in the team, as Marcus [Ericsson]. I've never felt like there was a leader guiding the team. There's always a leader, obviously. Like Scott, he's still the leader of the team. But not in a way of structuring the work for each car.

"Yeah, I think it's not really going to change anything. I've been working with Kyffin for a long time, with [Marcus] Armstrong, as well, with Felix [Rosenqvist] now. There's been nothing that - there's been no time that one driver had more saying or more importance than any other, and I think it's going to be the same for the future."

Credit: Chris Owens

The biggest question, for now, is who has the responsibility of filling the great void that will be left by Dixon at the team? Although we may need to wait to find out an answer due to various contractual situations, Palou is keen to have a driver who can compete with him, whilst re-affirming he has "zero saying" in the final decision.

"As a driver, you always want the fastest driver in the same machinery as you. You want to see what the best drivers can do. You want to learn from them. You think that you can beat them when they are with an equal machinery to you.

"I think whatever Chip and the team decides will be the best decision, obviously. I think a lot of people when they chose to put me on the No.10 car thought that that was not a very smart move, and hopefully we have someone that, again, the team gives him the chance to win and to be up front every single weekend."

It is almost ironic in many ways that Dixon's great dominance of the 2010s came to an end through the emergence of his younger teammate. Since the metaphorical baton has been passed to Palou, he has claimed four championships in five years and is well on his way to a fifth series championship with just eight races to go in 2026.

It would be easy to attribute Palou's success to his own individual brilliance throughout the last six years, but there's no doubting that a lot of what was seen during Dixon's peak years is very much seen in what Palou does on a race-by-race basis in the present. And there's no doubt in Palou's mind that Dixon's impact has been one of the key factors into his success through the guidance the six-time champion had on the Spaniard's development.

"From being able to see how a six-time champion works, at the shop, at the track, how he communicates with the team, how he brakes, it's everything, every single piece. He's been an incredible teammate. In the way of sharing, I think it could go both ways. I think it could be suddenly a big wall in between and not sharing anything, but he's been the complete opposite.

"I know I would probably not have any championships, or more than one championship without him in the team, so it's incredible. It's incredible the work that he has done over 25 years for everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing with his teammates and different teammates he has had and everything that he has built.