Alex Palou took victory in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Long Beach IndyCar event, notching his third win in the young season and retaking the points lead in the process.
Although his victories may seem inevitable at times, Palou actually did not feel he had the car to win on outright pace.
He was behind Felix Rosenqvist for a majority of the event and could see how well the Swede’s car was working.
A late caution allowed him to close the gap before a critical pit stop sequence, when his crew helped him jump into the lead just in time to take the win.
Palou admitted that his confidence was high in his crew’s abilities, but his chances at overtaking under green conditions would have been low.
“I was not giving up,” Palou explained. “I think it would have been very, very tough for us to get [Rosenqvist on track] today. I think we were trying everything possible to just overset our pit stop, try and get one lap further.
“At the same time he was already three seconds ahead, which is what you lose on an out lap. I don’t know. I think it would have been really, really tough. My confidence was high, but I think my chances were low.
“I mean, the confidence again was super high because I know the crew has been doing an incredible job, especially this year and last year. But you never know. It only takes one second, like a small mistake, and then suddenly you go from second to seventh.
“The guys know as well. The pressure that they have to take that moment was pretty high. Incredible the work they did.”
Palou heads into the Month of May with a 17 point lead over Kyle Kirkwood in the standings.
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