Alex Palou is the man of the moment after becoming the youngest driver in IndyCar history to win three championships.
The Chip Ganassi Racing star comfortably beat his rivals to claim the title at the Music City Grand Prix, despite starting on the back foot in 24th place.
It was a lesson in calculated and measured racing from the Spaniard, who schooled his rivals on the way to a fairly standard 11th-place finish.
He was aided slightly by main rival Will Power effectively dropping out of contention after 12 laps with a seatbelt issue – allowing Palou to complete the rest of the race stress-free.
Alex Palou privileged with Scott Dixon and other IndyCar great comparisons
An incredible statistic that gives Palou’s run some perspective is that he has only been beaten by one driver in the championship over the last four seasons.
That also happens to be his main rival from this year, Power, who had every chance to beat him again in 2024 but suffered from bad luck and mistake-ridden races.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after winning the title, Palou discussed how special it is to be involved in conversations with the IndyCar greats.
READ MORE: Chip Ganassi explains whether he thinks Alex Palou is now among IndyCar’s greatest-ever drivers
“It’s crazy. I don’t think it’s sunk into me. Obviously, today that’s all I’ve been hearing. Comparisons [to the greats] and stuff which is just amazing to be around. I’m privileged to be around these guys.
“I’m privileged to learn from Scott Dixon, to share teams with him and hopefully one day we can look back and say ‘we have this amount of championships’.”
Can Palou complete a three-peat in 2025?
It would be incredibly difficult for Palou to return next year and win yet again, with the tag of the ‘hunted’ on his back.
Every driver will want to beat him, which is a sign of respect and how well he has done over the past few seasons.
READ MORE: Alex Palou shares what his next IndyCar ‘goal’ is after winning third championship
As he mentioned with teammate Scott Dixon being great to be around, he can learn a lot about how to approach a title defence when you have won so many times from him.
The Kiwi driver is yet to be announced for next season, but he’s widely expected to be Chip Ganassi’s second driver and it would serve as a shock if he was not to return.
In fact, Palou is the only driver confirmed at the team for next season, with one further seat possibly up for grabs at one of IndyCar’s most reliable title-contending teams.