After somewhat missing out on the Indianapolis 500, multiple IndyCar champion Álex Palou won hands down on the streets of Detroit from pole position, leading from start to finish.
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Despite some concerns before the start, Álex Palou perfectly controlled the eighth round of the IndyCar season to claim his fourth victory of the year.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver won ahead of Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti), who in the process takes second place in the championship.
The Spaniard feared he might not manage to convert his pole position into a win, a scenario already experienced during his two previous starts at the front in Indianapolis, both in the Grand Prix and the 500 Miles.
A decisive strategy
The start of the race was not easy for Palou, overwhelmed by Will Power (Andretti) in the first laps. At the end of the first stint, his heavily degraded soft tires caused him to lose several positions, making it seem that victory might once again slip away from him.
But the championship leader quickly regained the advantage thanks to a perfectly executed strategy with his team. First to make his stop, at the same time as Kirkwood, Palou managed to retake the lead of the race. This choice then proved rewarding during the second pit stop, made slightly earlier than his main rivals.
Luck also smiled on the Spanish champion: barely two laps after his last stop, a neutralization caused by a collision between Santino Ferrucci (Foyt) and Rinus VeeKay (JHR) froze the order at the perfect moment for him.
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Grosjean taken out by Rossi
With twenty laps to go, Palou was leading ahead of several drivers who had also benefited from this neutralization, notably David Malukas (Penske) and Mick Schumacher (RLL), then engaged in an intense battle for the podium. The duel finally ended abruptly when Schumacher locked a wheel under braking, sending both drivers off track and ruining their chances of a major result.
This incident marked the start of a much more hectic end to the race after a particularly calm first half. A few laps later, Alexander Rossi (ECR) caused another yellow flag after sending Romain Grosjean (Coyne) off track under braking on the long straight.
At the same time, the two rivals who seemed most threatening to Palou, Power and Scott McLaughlin (Penske), compromised their chances by colliding several times. Despite soft tires at the end of the race, Kirkwood never managed to mount a real attack on the leader. Palou was thus able to control the last laps to secure another victory and consolidate his lead in the championship.
Honda signs a triple
The surprise came from Graham Rahal (RLL), who delivered an excellent performance allowing him to climb onto the third step of the podium. This result offers a remarkable triple for Honda on General Motors’ home turf.
The McLaren drivers, Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard, complete the Top 5 ahead of the recent Indianapolis 500 winner, Felix Rosenqvist.
The IndyCar championship will continue next weekend with the Gateway event, a short oval where Palou will try to continue his impressive domination over the 2026 season.
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