Finding the right balance is important for any IndyCar driver who wants to fight for a championship against their talented rivals.
Knowing when to push their cars, when to make a pit stop and when to make a brave move is all part of what makes being an athlete at this level so difficult.
It’s easy to cross that fine line and be left with little points to show from an IndyCar weekend, and maybe even some annoyed colleagues.
It’s what happened to Will Power at the Grand Prix of Madison, whose aggressive approach cost David Malukas a shot at a maiden victory at Gateway.
Will Power admits he has been ‘over-aggressive’ in 2024
Discussing his approach to the 2024 IndyCar season after taking his third win of the season at Portland with Autosport, Power compared his own style with some of his rivals.
He’s still in the championship fight, and to claim his third title in the series he must maintain an attacking mindset to overcome Alex Palou.
READ MORE: Why Alex Palou should be worried about four IndyCar drivers in his quest to win the 2024 title
“You have your goals coming into a season, but you are just walking that tightrope of aggression versus consistency,” he said. “If you look at (Scott) Dixon, 99% of the time he will not go for a move that’s sort of in a 50/50. He will weigh on the cautious side. That’s won him championships.
“[Alex] Palou is further to the aggressive [side] but he walks that tightrope of aggression versus reward really well. I’m always playing on that one side or the other.
“’22 I was too conservative. ’23 I had a bad year. This year maybe I’m a little bit over-aggressive at times but that’s the game you play. You have got to hit that sweet spot. It’s tough.”
What is the outlook for Power vs Palou?
With three races of the IndyCar season to go and a deficit of 54 points to overturn, Power needs to turn up on the ovals if he stands a chance of closing an almost impossible gap.
However, it may be to his advantage that Palou is yet to win an IndyCar oval race – a statistic which may need to change if his Australian rival turns up on more than one occasion.
It’s looking more and more like the points that Power dropped at both Gateway and Toronto may end up costing him a realistic shot at the crown.
READ MORE: Colton Herta reveals what’s been Andretti’s ‘Achilles heel’ during IndyCar title fight this season
But, across the last five race weekends, he has turned up with a car that is capable of fighting for victory, which is menacing for his rivals.
Dependability and consistency may be what is required to win over the course of 18 races, but Power needs to maintain an ‘over-aggressive’ approach is he is to back Palou into a corner and snatch some points away from him.