Alex Palou He faces his first match ball for the IndyCar title this weekend. The 24-year-old Catalan rider regained the lead in the last race, in Portland, where he shone with pole position and a victory that puts him very close to his goal. Now Palou arrives at Laguna Sena, a circuit in which he has never raced, with mathematical possibilities of proclaiming himself champion.
In his second year in IndyCar and in his first with the champion team, Chip Ganassi, Palou tops the standings with 25-point advantage over Pato O’Ward, 34 on Josef Newgarden, 49 on Scott Dixon and 75 on Marcus Ericsson. All of them still have options for the title, although much less than the Catalan driver. If he leaves with 50 points of advantage of the Californian test, Palou will be champion without having to wait for the Long Beach race, a week later.
It will not be easy Àlex in Laguna Seca, the famous ‘Corkscrew’ circuit that made MotoGP fans enjoy so much. The experienced ones Newgarden and Dixon, which accumulate several titles each, will not give up until the end in a competition always open to surprises and script twists and turns. Because Palou no credit.
Palou’s accounts
The accounts for the title are complicated by the peculiar scoring system of the Indycar. Every weekend the winner adds 50 points, but to that you can add to your account one point for pole, one point for leading a lap and two points for being the rider with the most laps in the lead. In each test, the maximum number of points to be achieved by a driver is 54, but taking into account that just leaving 5 points is added, the maximum difference of the winner with any rival is 49 points.
From here there are many combinations that can give you the title in advance this Sunday. Yes Palou leaves Laguna Seca with a 50-point advantage and will be champion. And also with 49, if he wins the race. Although then I couldn’t celebrate until I score the 5 points of taking the exit at Long Beac. I mean, it would be virtual champion.
To get that cushion of 50 points, you would need to endorse 25 more points to Pato O’Ward (or 24 if Palou wins) and 16 to Newgarden (15 if he wins). If the Catalan takes the victory it will be the fourth in his locker, while Newgarden and O’Ward would continue with two. This would make the first tie-breaking factor, that of victories, was already on the side of the Spanish facing the last race.
Concentrated
Palou he insists on his motto to go session to session and not think about the end result. For him so much Laguna Seca as Long Beach These are two unprecedented tracks, since both events were canceled by the pandemic in 2020, but he is optimistic after his great performance throughout the season. Still, he believes his most realistic goal this weekend is to get the title on track for the final round.
“We think about the race, and until the last pit stop in Long Beach we are not going to think about what I really need to do to win this championship. Laguna Seca will be good for us, we have tested there and I feel strong. It is a permanent circuit And this year we have been in the fight in each of the races of that type, so I feel quite strong about it & rdquor ;, assures Àlex.
“Long Beach will be interesting and exciting, but there is nothing I can do about it. I have never been there. All of my competitors have raced on that track and won races, so it’s a bit scary, but I hope I can do a good job. in Laguna Seca to be a little more comfortable in Long Beach. This year we struggled a bit in the first races on city circuits, but we got a podium in Detroit and we qualified third in Nashville. Yes, we are also fast on city circuits. ” .
“IndyCar is very competitive and, especially this year, it is very close, since in this race we have gone from being 10 points behind to 25 points ahead- I think we are clearly in the fight. But until Long Beach we are not going to really know who is who. “
This is how the Indycar goes with 2 races to go:
- Alex Palou (Ganassi) – 477 points
- Patricio O’Ward (McLaren SP) – 452 points
- Josef Newgarden (Penske) – 443 points
- Scott Dixon (Ganassi) – 428 points
- Marcus Ericsson (Ganassi) – 402 points