Alex Palou faces the demands of IndyCar: "I only have bruises on the right side of my body"

“My discovery of IndyCar in 2020 was a real shock. Unlike other motorsports I had experienced in Europe and Japan, here in the United States, the cars don't have power steering. When you jump into a vehicle like that, you feel everything: every vibration, every jolt. My first season was very difficult. I finished races with sore shoulders and arms. I had prepared as much as I thought necessary, but it wasn't enough.

Your hands are also put to the test. Gripping the steering wheel with all your might for two or three hours of racing, you end up with huge blisters. This is the fate of all drivers during their first year. They disappear after that. The IndyCar season is short and very intense: I do seventeen race weekends in six months.

The offseason is crucial. This is when I do a lot of weight training and strength training. My routine includes a lot of CrossFit. I push myself as hard as I can, even going further than I need to. Because once the season starts, I don't have time for that anymore, and I lose weight as the weeks go by.

The other particularity of IndyCar is the oval circuits. We have six on the program this season. In the United States, young drivers start training on them very early. Coming from Spain, I didn't have this culture. It's a completely different racing technique.

Doing a lap of the circuit alone is not that complicated. But riding in a pack, at very high speed, defending your position, overtaking... It's an art. Mentally, you have to anticipate overtaking one or two laps in advance. You have to plan, take the slipstream and attack at the right time. There's also the fact of always turning left. Physically, you feel the impact. On short ovals, at the end of a race, I only have bruises on the right side of my body. This is because the blood is constantly pushed to that side by the G (the acceleration of gravity) . We also reach record speeds on ovals: up to 380-390 km/h.

“There are so many elements to control during a race that I try not to think about it too much and let go.”

It's impossible for the human body to withstand such pressure alone. Fortunately, our helmets and cockpits are padded with thick foam, so the body moves as little as possible. But even with that, the head is compressed so much that it sometimes tilts a little, and that can end up hurting.

Unlike Formula 1, which uses a halo, the cockpit of an IndyCar car is enclosed by a protective glass panel called an aeroscreen. Although there are some air vents, the temperature inside can reach 50 degrees.

It's not something you feel during the race, but as soon as you make a pit stop, it quickly becomes unbearable. You can prepare for it a little with sauna sessions and breathing exercises, but it never represents the real racing conditions with the helmet and suit.

Ultimately, there are so many elements to control during a race that I try not to overthink it and let go. I tell myself that I can only control what I can control. If it works so well for me, it's a combination of factors.

You can't win that much without having a really good car, a really good team behind you, and the right strategy. But you also can't win if your driver isn't at his best mentally and physically. I've been feeling really good lately. And I'm only 28, so I hope to keep going for as long as possible."