Chip Ganassi’s Alex Palou is questioning whether he was beaten to the Indianapolis 500 victory on raw speed or the tactical experience of now four-time winner Helio Castroneves.
The two drivers swapped positions on several occasions in the final laps with the Brazilian able to make his final pass on Palou for the lead into Turn 1 with two laps remaining.
Palou was competing in just his second Indy 500, while 46-year-old Castroneves was making his 21st start at the Brickyard.
Despite narrowly missing out on the victory, Palou valued the learning experience of pitting himself against one of the most successful drivers at the speedway.
“I need to ask him if he was going all out the last 15 laps or if he was waiting for the last four to overtake me,” said the Spaniard.
“If he was waiting for the last four, then that was experience. If he was just going all out, he had better timing today.
“For sure, if he had 18 or 19 more starts than I do, he had a bit more experience. But I had a lot of fun. I was able to really get the experience and learn a lot from him. Yeah, it was good.”
As Palou attempted to pass Castroneves on the final lap, the pair had caught up to a train of lapped cars which prevented the 24-year-old from making any attempt on the final lap.
“I was doing everything to catch him,” he added. “I think my car was really good out of two, so I knew I had the really good shot for two and three.
“I was trying to prepare a bit. But the thing is he was getting the tow from the traffic cars. He was not losing speed against me on the straight line. Yeah, that’s all I could do.
“I think I gave it everything. I even had a moment in turn four where I almost went to the wall because I was trying too hard. Yeah, these things happen. He was better today.”
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