The anthem of the USAwill pronounce the “Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines”. Adam Driveractor originally from Indiana and known for his participation in Star Warswill wave the green flag that will start the race and start the 107th edition of the Indianapolis 500 (6:45 p.m. Movistar Deportes y Vamos). With Alex Palou at the helm of the 33 cars chasing glory on the oval of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
200 laps ahead and behind a list of applicants who should not be trusted, starting with the Spaniard’s front-row companions, Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing) and Felix Rosenqvist (McLaren)which form the front row fastest in history, such as the pole position that Palou achieved last weekend, which makes him the first Spaniard with that privilege in the 500. And as one more example of the difficulty of the race, one piece of information: among the 33 participants There are nine former Indianapolis 500 winners: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021), scott dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2013), Ryan Hunter Reay (2014), alexander rossi (2016), Takuma-sato (2017, 2020), Will Power (2018), simon pagenaud (2019) and marcus ericsson (2022). Between all of them they add 13 victories. The record for previous victories is 10, in 1992.
Does Palou have a chance of winning the brickyardsavor the drink of milk and stamp his face in the Borg–Warner Trophy? Absolutely yes. His car is fast, as his pole position shows, he also has pace in traffic, as seen in practice last week, and his team, Chip Ganassi, is usually correct with the strategies, taking into account gasoline consumption and degradation of the wheels. This makes him start on the list of favorites. But in a race like the 500, you never know. It is often said that the 500 miles they choose their winner and in the previous one the Barcelonan left some of the keys: “We have to try to control the race as much as possible, but without getting out of it too soon by being very aggressive like last year. We know we have the car, the team and we are going for it. The objective is to survive until the last pit-stop”.
It is the fourth participation of palou in the Indianapolis 500, but the third really with options to win. In 2020 he ended up on the wall with the modest dale coyne when he was ninth and in 2021 he already ran with Chip Ganassi, one of the most powerful teams in the IndyCar. He brushed victory. He was second behind the veteran Helio Castroneves, who achieved his fourth victory on the oval. In 2022 he fought again, he was leading until an untimely yellow flag took him out of the race. And this 2023, with more experience, she will be the third. They say that she is the charm. And it would be milk.