Alex Palou dominates to win at Barber

Alex Palou claimed a dominant victory at the Alabama Indy Grand Prix. The reigning champion started the race from pole position, quickly built a gap and cruised unchallenged to his third win in four races. Christian Lundgaard finished an impressive second after a strong drive through the field, with Scott McLaughlin taking third.

After rain on Saturday, the sun returned to Birmingham, AL on Sunday, allowing the race to be run under ideal conditions.

Polesitter Alex Palou converted his top starting position into the lead at the start, ahead of Scott McLaughlin. The top six remained unchanged in the opening laps, although Nolan Siegel was passed by his McLaren teammates after a few laps.

Christian Lundgaard delivered an impressive performance from seventh on the grid. With a slightly earlier first pit stop, he managed to jump past fifth-place starter Rinus VeeKay, and after his second stop, he pulled off clean overtakes on both Will Power and Scott McLaughlin.

By that point, Alex Palou had already built a lead of more than six seconds over second-placed Colton Herta. However, the American encountered significant trouble in the pits once again, stalling his engine after his second stop. Thanks to the hybrid system, he was able to restart on his own, but lost several positions in the process.

Thanks in part to an extra set of fresh, softer tires, VeeKay was able to delay his second pit stop by a few laps, gaining significant ground on the drivers ahead. After his second stop, he rejoined the track just ahead of Power. The Dutchman had to use all his driving skills to keep his car in front of the #12 Penske machine, but managed to do so. With Herta dropping back, VeeKay moved up into fourth place.

That fourth place was seriously threatened during the final round of pit stops due to a botched stop. The mechanic changing the right-front wheel dropped the wheel nut, costing several seconds while he grabbed a spare. The Dale Coyne Racing driver had built a four-second gap to Power before the stop, which he needed entirely: once again, he rejoined just ahead of the two-time champion and once again successfully defended his position.

Despite heavy traffic in the closing stages of the race, Palou’s victory was never in doubt. The reigning champion took the checkered flag sixteen seconds ahead of Lundgaard. In the final stint, VeeKay erased an eleven-second deficit to McLaughlin but ran out of laps to attempt a pass. McLaughlin finished third; VeeKay impressed with a strong fourth place.

Full results of the race on Barber Motorsports Park