Alex Palou has been a force on the streets of Long Beach in his IndyCar career. All he was missing was a win–until now.
After recording a Top 5 finish in all five of his starts in Long Beach, the 29-year-old Spaniard was undeniable on Sunday afternoon, taking the checkered flag for the 51st running of the Acura Grand of Long Beach.
“It feels incredible,” said Palou of taking the checkered flag in Long Beach for the first time. “I just feel so lucky with the opportunity I had to win the (Indianapolis) 500 last year and the Long Beach GP this year. I’m living on this amazing cloud of happiness right now.”
Palou started the race in third position, but wasted little time making his only on-track pass of the day. Heading into turn one, Palou overtook Pato O’Ward at the beginning of the Lap 2, leaving just polesitter Felix Rosenqvist in his sights.
Rosenqvist was in command of the first half of the race, leading 51 of the 90 laps on Sunday. The difference-maker for Palou was in pit lane, when he was able to overtake Rosenqvist and lead the final 32 laps.
A piece of debris on the track caused the yellow flag to come out on Lap 58, breaking an extended run of green flag racing at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. It was the first caution in Long Beach since the 2024 race, breaking a stretch of 214 laps without one.
The entire field visited pit lane during that caution, preparing for the final 32 laps, and it opened the door for Palou to move into the lead. Palou gained three-quarters of a second on Rosenqvist during that stop, bringing him to the front of the pack. His crew was credited for making the pit stop in just 7.30 seconds, more than a full second better than Rosenqvist’s time of 8.40 seconds.
“I’m super proud of everybody, but especially these guys, this crew that gave me the win today,” said Palou trackside after his win. “It was that yellow, it was that pit stop with all the pressure that these boys were able to do it and execute it perfectly. From there it was just managing the tires, we didn’t know how the primaries were gonna be. Incredible, incredible to finally win here in Long Beach.”
Rosenqvist continued his success at Long Beach with a second-place finish, his fourth consecutive Top 10 at this course. He won the seventh pole of his career on Saturday and was in pursuit of his second career IndyCar win, and first since 2020.
“It’s been a very good weekend. Obviously you want to win when you have the opportunity, but I’m proud of today,” said Rosenqvist, who was pleased with his best-ever finish in Long Beach, while also acknowledging the frustration of losing his lead under caution. “The annoying thing for me was I had a bit of a cushion, like 2.3 seconds (at the time of the caution) … So it’s a little bit frustrating, but at the end of the day, Alex and his crew did a better job in that moment of pressure there and it’s just something to learn from.”
Two-time Long Beach winner Scott Dixon also earned a podium finish, moving up from his starting position of sixth into the Top 3. Last year’s winner, Kyle Kirkwood, held onto his starting position and finished fourth.
Nolan Siegel was the biggest mover of the day, starting at the back of the pack in 25th and finishing 12th. Josef Newgarden was active in the race, and posted the fastest lap of the day in a time of 1:08.83. He made 11 on-course passes to lead all drivers, finishing in 14th position.
But Sunday’s race will go down as the latest milestone in the flourishing career of Alex Palou, who has won 11 of the last 22 IndyCar races dating back to last season. The three-time defending IndyCar champion is in good shape to win his fourth in a row.
Palou’s three wins through the first five races of the season have him atop the championship standings with 205 points on the season, ahead of Kirkwood in second place with 188 points.
The IndyCar series continues May 8-9 with the Sonsio Grand Prix in Indianapolis, followed by the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 24.
