ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Two years ago, only the most diehard racing aficionados knew that Alex Palou was one of the top young talents in international racing.
Two years later, Palou is set to defend his NTT IndyCar Series championship in the first race of the season in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Back in 2020, Palou arrived in St. Petersburg, Fla., as a rookie driver at Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh. He was preparing for what he thought would be his first IndyCar race.
On March 13, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down all professional and intercollegiate sports. IndyCar was parked until June 6, when it finally held its first race without spectators allowed at Texas Motor Speedway.
Palou started 16th and finished 23rd.
Two races later, Palou finished third in the first race of a doubleheader at Road America and seventh in race two the following day.
After that, IndyCar fans got to know Alex Palou.
He finished his rookie season 16th in points, but had earned a ride at Chip Ganassi Racing in the famed No. 10 Honda.
He drove to victory in his first race in that car, the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. It was the first of three wins for Palou and the 24-year-old from Spain won the NTT IndyCar Series championship in his second season in the series.
He is back on the streets of St. Petersburg and hopes he can successfully defend his championship, but in order to do that, he will have to find improvement in this street race.
His best finish at St. Petersburg was 17th last year.
“In 2021, it was really, really tough what we went through learning with a new team, learning still some racetracks, still learning how to race with the IndyCar,” Palou said. “It was a good year, but I think we’ll have a lot of competition this year.
“We have new drivers in different teams. We have new drivers from other places. It’s going to be challenging. We’ve been working as if last year we lost it and I think we’ll be ready to try and fight again.”
Palou is now one of IndyCar’s stars and no longer has the ability to be overlooked by the competition. In one year, he established himself as one of the drivers to beat in any given race.
“I think we always have pressure in all kinds of sports, but especially motorsport where you need to show your potential in order to get a new contract, right?” Palou quipped. “We always have pressure, but I don’t think I have added pressure from last year. I would say I even have less.
“But I don’t think that’s a good or bad thing. We already showed we’re capable of winning a championship, winning races and being up there.
“We just need to do it again.”
Palou clinched the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series in the season’s final race, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. After that, he went on a champion’s tour that included a trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway to watch the NASCAR Cup Series race on the ROVAL.
He met a king – Richard Petty – and James Bond – actor Daniel Craig – at that race.
After that, he flew to his homeland in Spain to finally get a chance to visit family and friends that have been separated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think it was great,” Palou said. “I think it’s growing over there. Obviously having somebody from Spain winning the championship makes IndyCar a bit more known in Spain.
“Hopefully we can keep it going and getting even more fans.”
Palou realizes winning two championships in a row won’t be easy, but he doesn’t feel any pressure to perform.
“It doesn’t really add pressure,” he said. “It’s not that I’m relaxed either. Just winning one championship, it means a lot, but it doesn’t mean a lot. You need to continue winning races and championships to still be valued as a champion.
“I think it’s going to be good having the target in our car. It’s always good when people are chasing you. But 2022 is going to be brand-new. We’re going to start everybody with zero points, with new people around us, new teams, new tracks that we’ll go to as well.
“It should be a fun year.”