Four victories of five races. Five consecutive triumphs for Honda. An advance of the championship increased from 60 to 97 points, which is entirely full races for an advantage in Indianapolis 500. Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing did it again.
“I cannot describe the incredible season we have had so far. I owe everything to the team and to all those who work behind the scenes to make me look so quickly,” said Palou after winning his third consecutive victory at the Indianapolis Grand Prix.
But the success of the Honda n ° 10 team on Saturday afternoon was not as simple, and it was not as dull as some of the others that he has had hit so far in 2025.
It looked like Graham Rahal’s day when he jumped Poleter Palou to take the lead at first and led for 48 laps. Just like his first victory in seven years, 11 months and six days seemed possible, already seen control of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road course while the Stratege of Palou and CGR Race Barry Wanser deployed his plan to use the winning tires of the Thermal Club to conquer Rahal and the rest of the field.
Thanks to David Malukas who seemed to have an engine problem in Tour 68 in the AJ Foyt Race Chevrolet n ° 4, which parked in the grass and triggered the first caution in 408 laps, a restart of the race was necessary. Pato O’Ward by Arrow McLaren did his best to tear the advance from Palou, but was forced to hold the post and finish second, 5.4s behind Palou in the Chevy n ° 5. The will of the Penske team, who jumped his teammate Scott McLaughlin in the stands to win the third, was 8.4 seconds in Palou in the Chevy n ° 12, Its ninth podium at the GP.
Alex Palou goes on for the head! #Indygp #Indycar pic.twitter.com/p2w4wok27m
– Indycar on Fox (@indycaronfox) May 10, 2025
“It’s a big day of points,” said O’Ward. “We have to do something to stop car n ° 10. I don’t think I have seen something like it.”
A hot day of 80 degrees also presented impressive discs of deeply in the field while Palou’s teammate, Scott Dixon, made his last jump from the 16 to the fifth. Marcus Armstrong by Meyer Shank Racing reflected his compatriot while the New Zealander turned from 15 to seventh while Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global went from the 21st to the eighth and recovered second from the championship. The biggest mover was the Rinus Veekay of Dale Coyne Racing who traveled from 24 to ninth.
The teams and drivers have two days off before the action resumed on Tuesday with opening training for Indy 500.
Key
The difference manufacturer for Rahal and Palou was their different approaches to the tire strategy in the first Indycar race where all the teams had to execute the main compound twice and the alternative compound twice.
For Palou, the call was to start on low mile-mile substitutes, to go to primaries with low mileage, to manage a new set of primaries on its third pass and to close the show on a brand new set of faster and preferred alternates. Open quickly and finish quickly.
Saving the best tires for the end, as is the CGR n ° 10 team in Thermal which allowed Maux to hunt and pass O’Ward for the victory, was a brilliant scheme of Wanser. For Rahal, these were new substitutes to start, new primary to follow, used alternates in the third pass and a set of new but slower primaries to access the checkered flag. Open quickly and finish slowly.
Blood advantage.
In fact, the final tires were not the decisive factor while Paoulou chased Rahal in the third pass while on the slowest primaries to the substitutes of Rahal, and he made the pass for the head while Rahal fell on the order. A final painfully slow stand left Rahal in a sixth, 19.0 to 19.0 from the winner.
Racing notes
Tour 1 and the beginning do not occur. The start of Kyffin Simpson’s P10 is a toast because the car does not start. The P6 of Josef Newgarden is also compromised by descending the lane of the stands before departure and took the start at the back of the field.
Tour 2 and Graham Rahal take the lead of poleter palou. Devlin DEFRACESCO fits in third, demoing his teammate Louis Foster. Colton Herta has nose damage and pits for repairs as well as Callum Ilott.
Tour 6 and Rahal have 1.1 on Palou.
Tour 7 and Marcus Ericsson have a problem and well with a suspected engine problem.
Tour 16 and 3.4 of Palou behind Rahal and a Defranceo on his tail.
Tour 17 and Rahal up 4.6 s.
Tour 19 and Palou behave to exchange alternates used for primaries.
Tour 20 and Defrancesco should go from substitutes to alternates.
Tour 21 and Rahal presents themselves at the head and are negotiated for primaries.
Tour 22 and it’s Rahal, Palou, Scott McLaughlin and Defrancesco.
Tour 23 and Rahal’s advance on Palou are down to 0.3 seconds.
Tour 25 and Felix Rosenqvist has a turn and continues in P19.
Tour 30 and Palou down 0.6 and 1.1 from McLaughlin behind Rahal. Many great movements among the poor qualifications with Christian Lundgaard from P14 to P7. Kyle Kirkwood went from P21 to P11 and Rinus Veekay went from P24 to P12.
Tour 39 and Rahal’s advance on Palou are a stable 0.5 s.
Tour 40 and the rest of the top 10 are filled by Pato O’Ward in fifth, Will Power, Foster, Alexander Rossi, Dixon and Marcus Armstrong.
Tour 42 and McLaughlin Pits. Lundgaard serves training to run on the stand output mixture line.
Tour 42 and Rahal and Palou at the end of the knees. They leave their nose to the tail with Rahal in mind. Rahal takes alternates and Palou obtains his second series of primaries.
Tour 43 and Defrancesco and O’Ward Pit. Defrancesco Stalls.
Tour 44 and Herta, a turn down, passes stack.
Tour 45 and Herta by Rahal, now on the same turn. Rahal put the 1.5 on Palou.
Tour 49 and Palou is 1.1 s from Rahal.
Tour 53 and Rahal leads by 0.6 s. Palou saved his push, and Rahal is 1m13.1 on substitutes while Palou flies on his primaries with a matching 1m13.1.
Tour 55 and lead stay at 0.6 s and Rahal and Palou have both established rounds of 1m13.2. Rahal will have to manage the slowest primaries to close the race and Palou has a new set of pending alternates.
Tour 58 and Palou operate 0.1 s per turn faster than Rahal, has a head at 0.1 s.
The Tour 59 and Belu challenges Rahal in the bend 1. No luck, doing it at the end of the back directly in the bend 7. Rahal led 48 laps at this point and complained from the back of the stability car.
Tour 61 and Palou counpepe herta. His advance on Rahal is 2.5 s.
Tour 63 and lead are 6.1s. Hears again.
Tour 64 and Rahal Pits. McLaughlin inherits in second, 8.2s to Palou. Very slow stop for Rahal, who saw an incredible day go to the south.
Tour 65 and McLaughlin present themselves for new substitutes. O’Ward uses a counter-deputy to overcome McLaughlin.
Tour 67 and Palou and Dixon Pit.
Tour 68 and Palou have 8.5 s on O’Ward and 9.8 on Power, which jumped McLaughlin in the stands.
Tour 71 and Palou has 10.2 s on O’Ward.
Tour 72 and it finally happened! David Malukas detached himself with smoke from his exhausts. We have caution after 408 laps of green action. Can O’Ward take the lead of Palou?
Tour 74 restarts and Palou holds his head while O’Ward looks at the interior.
Tour 75 and Palou are up 0.8 s on O’Ward and 1.6 s in power.
Tour 83 and Palou is seated on 5.3 s on O’Ward. Two laps to do.
Tour 85 and Palou win by 5.4 s. Ridiculous.
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