It doesn’t worry him, it doesn’t worry him, he doesn’t even think about it. In Catalan Àlex Palou (Sant Antoni de Vilamajor, April 1, 1997 but settled in Girona) he cares a radish, nothing, that people think of him for the Formula 1. He wanted to run to the United States, he wanted to be the «king d’USA, he wanted to win in l’Indy. And there he is, at the top of the championship.
Now two weekends the holidays are over, he got back in his car and finished seventh in the Nashville race, saving the Indy’s lead, which is the most important thing, right?
The truth is, I never thought of such a hectic comeback, telling him that the one who won overturned, flew over another opponent and ended up winning the race, I tell you everything. It was, in fact, a survival race for everyone, and in that sense, when you start and finish a chaotic grand prize, the best thing is to save the furniture, turn the page, one less race and one more leadership, which is the important and vital.
The world of the Indy is hugely surprised by your performance, as you are almost, almost, a newcomer.
When we talk about high-level sport, when we talk about high competition, when we talk about one of the king sports United States, there is no talk of rookies, or rookies, or veterans, or champions, or experts. Here we all start from scratch and although the experience is huge and very useful in this championship, good proof of this is that I am the debutant teammate of a guy like the champion Scott Dixon, the truth is I am very proud of what I am doing and how I am doing it. Six podiums, two victories a Alabama i Wisconsin, seven top-5 and championship leader is something I couldn’t even dream of. Much is missing, yes, but we can win the title.
What makes you believe so much?
It would be ugly to say that I myself believe in this possibility. And, how ugly it would be to say it, even if I thought about it and, yes, I think about it, to say I’m on one of the top three teams in the championship, I own a great car and all the tools to be a champion. So, if I’m not, I won’t be able to make any excuses. I have everything to gain and therefore it is in my hands to achieve it. It is clear that the first part of the championship could not have been better, but we have to repeat it in order to be champions. You have to stay on the podium and, if you can, that should be, win a couple of races out of the remaining four. We need these victories.
Ever since he felt he wanted to make a living driving, he decided not to set his sights on the F-1, but the Indy.
Let’s see, I wouldn’t want to look like I despise Formula 1 much less! I only insist on the difficulty that, perhaps, I do not know, I was able to discover very soon, yes, yes, at only 13 or 14 years old, how difficult it is to get a steering wheel in Formula 1. You analyze your possibilities and think that to be a Formula 1 driver you not only have to be fast, be good, but you depend on many other things that you can’t control, that are not in your hands and that’s why I preferred to direct my steps elsewhere.
What makes you end up becoming a top driver, an elite professional, and even a candidate to win the Indy?
Let’s see, I’m not so clear, it’s obvious that there are a lot of people looking at you in all categories and so it’s obvious that you have to be fast, fast and regular in all categories. This is what I think is crucial when it comes to trusting you, such as trusting Honda when he saw me running to the Japan. You have to be fast, competitive and even a candidate for the podium when you have a smaller car, less competitive than the leading cars and therefore the experts think “if this guy is able to make good races with a smaller car, when we give him a good car he will be able to win ». And yes, that’s what ended up happening to me. I now have a great car and am on a great team.
What do you like about Indy, how do you think she is attractive, what makes her feel happy competing in it?
Well, the Indy like all categories, like all specialties, like all sports has its tricks. The best part is that all cars are the same and only differ in the tuning you use on each track. Aerodynamics is very important and, yes, it is also very similar, not to mention the same. So what I love about the Indy is that our hands are very important and count a lot, which, I think, doesn’t happen to the same extent in Formula 1, for example.
I could expand on this concept a bit more, the fact that the driver in the Indy influences more than in the Formula 1 World Championship.
Everyone knows about the sophistication of Formula 1 cars. It’s not a critique, it’s a reality. Good luck to them. In the Indy, cars are much more, I do not know, let’s say primitive, simple, do not carry as much or so much technology. This is neither good nor bad, it is different. For example, they do not have power steering which, in principle, might look like an animal, but this allows you to be hard on the car, even abrupt. What’s more, I love the Indy formula because you can mistreat the car, let yourself be mistreated. What’s more, the more you abuse them, the faster you go and the trick is to know how to get the most out of them in very, very harsh conditions. The Indy allows you to be yourself and prove that it is your hands that turn around. And that, of course, adds value to your turn.
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