IndyCar Expert Reveals Why Alex Palou Can Be Snubbed F1 Opportunity Despite Beating Lando Norris’ Time in His FP1 Debut

Alex Palou has been one of the most popular IndyCar drivers lately due to his exploits in the American series. This has also led to speculation regarding a possible move to F1 for Palou. However, IndyCar expert Jack Benyon, appearing in The Race podcast, thinks that Palou might still be snubbed despite being three-tenths faster than Lando Norris in his FP1 debut.

Hailing from Barcelona, Spain, Palou spent his formative years racing in Europe before he decided to jump across the pond and participate in Indycar. He took part in GP3 back in 2015 and 2016 with Campos and then moved on to World Series V8 and also tried his hand in F2 for two races.

However, all of these efforts did not lead to much success and Palou went over to Japan for a few years before finally settling down in the US. It was here that Palou finally managed to show his mettle and won the Mario Andretti Cup for being the highest scorer in road and street circuits. However, when it comes to getting the chance to drive in F1, Palou’s past might come back to haunt him.

Alex Palou’s difficult past might be an issue for him

Jack Benyon appeared on the latest episode of The Race podcast where he spoke about Alex Palou’s chances of making it into F1. According to Benyon, Palou’s poor record during his junior career might deter team bosses from hiring him for their teams.

Benyon said, “I think the only thing that probably goes against him is his, kind of, weird career leading up to Indycar. Some of the results and some of the finishes he had in other championship that he’d done, particularly in Europe, where most of the F1 team bosses and the people who make the decisions would have been aware of him.”

However, despite all of this, McLaren did give Palou the opportunity to test out their F1 car in 2022. Palou also made his Free Practice debut that year in the United States GP. He was announced as the reserve driver for McLaren for the 2023 season.

Alex Palou turned his back on his only F1 chance

Alex Palou’s relationship with McLaren turned out to be short-lived. The Spanish driver was set to join the Indycar team of McLaren in 2024. However, Palou turned his back on the contract and instead wants to sign a new deal with his current team, Chip Ganassi.

Following this latest twist in the Alex Palou contractual saga, it would be safe to say that the Indycar driver would not be receiving any opportunities from McLaren. This has only ended up making his path into F1 even more difficult that before.