P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Alex Palou said he will not “drive differently” in Portland despite his chance to wrap up the 2025 championship this weekend.
Alex Palou will start in fifth place for today’s IndyCar Portland race, following a mistake in the Fast Six where he had qualified sixth. Despite a penalty for Christian Lundgaard, Palou was unable to secure pole position after locking up and hitting the wall at Turn 12 during qualifying. Palou described the incident as a “small mistake” and acknowledged his error led to his best lap time being deleted. While starting at the back due to flat spotted tires, Palou remains focused on winning the race despite his relaxed attitude towards his championship lead over Pato O’Ward. Both Palou and O’Ward seemingly agree that Palou has already secured the championship title, with O’Ward admitting that Palou would need extremely bad luck for him to catch up. Although Palou is also aiming to break the single-season win record in IndyCar, he understands the challenges ahead in terms of tyre management and temperature changes during the upcoming race. Despite the uncertainty, Palou remains confident in his car’s performance and looks forward to the day’s competition.
