Who is the world’s best racecar driver right now?
It’s a debate that has piqued the motorsports world’s interest the entire season, and has largely been between two drivers: NASCAR’s Kyle Larson and F1’s Max Verstappen.
The debate picked up some steam when Larson made his first attempt at the Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600 “Double.” Having never driven an NTT IndyCar Series machine outside of testing, Larson went out and qualified fifth and led four laps before a speeding penalty relegated him to 18th.
That, combined with showing speed all throughout the Month of May, was enough to earn him the title of Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.
Larson’s IndyCar teammate Alexander Rossi, an ex-F1 driver himself who has raced against Verstappen before, told The Associated Press Larson could keep pace with anyone. At the time, Larson said that Verstappen could smoke him in an F1 car, while he could probably beat the three-time F1 World Champion in an IndyCar or sprint car.
The debate really caught fire a few months later when Larson himself claimed to FloRacing he was a better all-around driver than Verstappen. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion made the claim after winning his third Knoxville Nationals, and his comments were supported by fellow dirt racers Gio Scelzi and Corey Day.
Larson further elaborated on his thoughts a few weeks later at Daytona International Speedway.
Larson has driven in the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series, winning the 2021 Cup title. He’s also raced in all three of the ARCA Menard’s Series divisions (national, East and West), winning the ARCA East title in 2012. He’s won in every one of those disciplines. He’s also a Rolex 24 winner in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Series and holds several crown jewel dirt wins, including the Chili Bowl, the Knoxville Nationals and the King’s Royal.
Along with his Indy 500 performance and a one-off zMAX CARS Tour start where he finished seventh, it’s easy to see why Larson is compared with Verstappen.
Meanwhile, Verstappen has said that while he acknowledges and respects Larson’s level of talent, such a debate should not exist because “everyone is talented in their own right” when it comes to driving a type of racecar.
Even still, that hasn’t stopped people all over the world from giving their opinions on which of the two is the world’s best.
But there’s a third driver who is seldom mentioned in the debate, yet arguably might be the best of them all.
After a grueling 17-race season (plus an exhibition race at the Thermal Club), the 2024 IndyCar season is in the books. For the third time in four seasons, Alex Palou hoisted the Astor Cup at Nashville Superspeedway.
Palou became the first driver to win back-to-back titles since Dario Franchitti won three straight from 2009-2011. Coincidentally, Palou’s championships have come in the same Chip Ganassi Racing No. 10 that Franchitti first made famous.
The back-to-back titles are impressive enough. So are the three titles in four seasons. But what might be the most impressive of all is that 2024 marked just Palou’s fifth full-time season.
He spent his first season with Dale Coyne Racing in 2020. Even in his rookie year, he put the IndyCar world on notice, scoring a podium in the first Road America race of the season, just the third race of the 2020 season. After finishing second in the Rookie of the Year battle, he then joined forces with CGR the next season, following the departure of Felix Rosenqvist.
What followed over the next 67 races were 11 wins, 32 podiums and an astounding three championships. Palou’s only down year was 2022, where he finished fifth in points but still managed a win in the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
I don’t think I need to tell you that those are unreal numbers.
This also comes as Palou’s name has consistently been floated around for an F1 ride at places like McLaren and Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. He actually signed a contract to drive for McLaren, which gave him an easy route to an F1 ride if he wanted it. However, a lawsuit from CGR followed, then Palou reneged on his McLaren contract to stay with CGR, resulting in another lawsuit.
Either way, Palou has attracted the attention of F1 teams, and I’m sure if a NASCAR team thought it would be logical enough to put him in a ride for a one-off that he could go out and win in that too if he had the right equipment.
The Spaniard is on a run that could span for many more years in IndyCar. And the wildest part is that it feels like he runs sneaky good. He’s seldom a driver that dominates a race or is loudly contending for the top spot. He just always seems to find a way to make it to the end and get a great finish out of it.
If you haven’t already, get used to hearing the name Alex Palou. He just might dominate the IndyCar Series over the next decade like Franchitti or Sebastien Bourdais, or even his teammate Scott Dixon did.
That being said, his name is nowhere to be found in the conversation of who the world’s best driver is. A man who has won three IndyCar titles in five years and is on F1 teams’ radars feels like he has a little bit more merit to the title of “World’s Best Driver” than most. You could even make the argument that he has a better case than Larson or Verstappen.
Palou is also a driver that is consistent. Not in the sense of finishes, as both Larson and Verstappen have that sort of consistency (I mean, if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be a part of this discussion). No, Palou is able to consistently rebound from mistakes.
When Larson or Verstappen make mistakes, they can ruin their race or even end their days. Palou is rarely one to find himself crashing out of a race or even committing silly penalties that put him and his No. 10 team behind the 8-ball. And because of that, he’s able to have unreal consistency in his finishes, which was able to propel him to the three titles he’s won.
Don’t disrespect Palou. He is more than deserving of being part of the “World’s Best Driver” debate. He’s lit up the charts in IndyCar, just as Larson and Verstappen have in their motorsports disciplines.
But is he the world’s best driver? If not, who?
Well, I share the same opinion as Verstappen. Everyone’s good at what they do in their own right. Therefore it’s impossible to really tell who the best driver is. It’s a silly debate to have, but at least it gets people talking. Who knows, maybe we can get the three of them in a car they’ve never raced in to really tell (perhaps a rally car or something).
Besides, when there are other multi-disciplinary drivers out there right now such as Shane van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin making names for themselves in more than one motorsport (and need I mention Connor Zilisch?), it’s truly hard to dictate who the world’s best driver truly is.
All I have to say on the matter is this: Enjoy and appreciate the sheer talent of these guys while they’re around, because these kind of drivers don’t come around often.
Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. Currently, he is an editor and co-authors Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the primary Truck Series reporter/writer and serves as an at-track reporter, among many other duties he takes on for the site. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is now a grad student. He is a theatre actor and fight-choreographer-in-training in his free time.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on X.