Indianapolis 500, one of the most important motorsport races in the world, considered one of the fastest, and part of the "Triple Crown of Motorsport" alongside 24 hours of Le Mans and Monaco Grand Prix in Formula 1, welcomes a new champion: Álex Palou.
The 28-year-old Spanish driver from Barcelona is one of the top drivers in the IndyCar championship, the top open-wheel racing championship in the US, where Palou debuted in 2020. That's why he is relatively unknown for the European fans, but his victory at Indy500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, is a landmark in Spanish sports, as he is the first Spaniard to win it, succeeding Josef Newgarden.
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Recently, other European drivers include Marcus Ericsson from Sweden in 2022, Simon Pagenaud from France in 2019, and the English drivers Dan Wheldon (2005, 2011) and Dari Franchitti (2007, 2010, 2012).
Including Indy500, the centrepiece of the championship, held at the Memorial Day weekend, public holiday in the US, Palou has won five out of the six races so far in the 2025 IndyCar Series, aiming to repeat his successes in 2024, 2023, and 2021.