Álex Palou pushed Scott McLaughlin for the win at Mid-Ohio, but couldn't get a good chance to overtake his rival and finished second for the third time this season
Álex Palou is still winless in the Indy 2022 season. The reigning IndyCar Series champion put pressure on New Zealander Scott McLaughlin until the end of the Mid-Ohio GP last Sunday (3), but ended up second for the third time this year. The Spaniard was close to taking the lead after the first round of pit-stops, but a yellow flag favored the Penske driver. Even without the victory, Palou celebrated the good result in Lexington.
"I was super happy, we had a fast car. Honda gave us everything we needed today with the fuel. That's why we were able to stop early and make the undercut work. It was a shame we got that yellow flag because we were ahead by two seconds when we went through the pit exit," explained the Spaniard.
"Anyway, it's the same rules for everyone. But it's good to be back here, good to fight until the end. It's super hard to pass here, at least if you're on the same tire strategy. I think we were a little bit faster, but I couldn't pass Scott [McLaughlin]. He also had an amazing race," stated Álex.
Palou finished the race less than a second behind McLaughlin. This was the second time this year that the two finished in the first positions, repeating the result in St. Pete, in the opening of the 2022 Indy season. The Spaniard revealed that he even thought about trying a bolder maneuver, but that even though he couldn't get the overtake on Scott, he had a fun afternoon.
"I think we had a fast car, but here it's hard to pass with the same tires without him making a mistake. He was perfect today. I was trying to force him to at least have a chance. We had two or three chances in turn four, but I was on the outside and I wasn't really side by side, so I thought it wasn't the best option," Palou said.
"I think we did the best with what we had today, we didn't leave anything, like we did on the mixed circuit in Indianapolis, for example. That was frustrating. Today was fun. I feel that every time I've been on the podium I've pushed the guy in front until the last lap, something that happened in St. Pete, Barber and here," concluded the Ganassi driver.
With the fourth podium of the year, Palou reached 286 points and reduced the gap to Marcus Ericsson, Indy's leader, to 35 points. The category returns on July 17th for the Toronto GP, with full coverage by GRANDE PRÊMIO.