Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, driver of the No. 10 DHL Honda, extended his
championship lead after victory Saturday (May 10) in the Sonsio Grand Prix of Indianapolis on the IMS road course.
The Spaniard started the race from pole position and took the lead in the final half; however, a late race caution failed to stop Palou, who claimed his third consecutive race win on the IMS road course.
Palou has been unstoppable this season and has taken four victories from five races. In the only event he did not win, Long Beach, he finished second. There have only been five races in 2025, but it looks like Palou is already on course to secure his third consecutive NTT IndyCar Series championship.
“I cannot describe the amazing season we’ve had so far,” he said after the race. “I owe everything to the team, Chip Ganassi Racing, my teammates, everybody who is working behind the scenes to make me look so fast on track. It’s amazing. It’s unbelievable.”
The Indianapolis 500 is two weeks away, and Palou now has an unprecedented 97-point lead in the championship over second-placed Kyle Kirkwood, who had a solid day at the Sonsio Grand Prix, where he finished the race in eighth place.
Christian Lundgaard has had a strong start to the season, but he has dropped to third in the standings following a tough race on Saturday.
Pato O’Ward had a great race for Arrow McLaren, claiming second place in the race and is fourth in the championship. Arrow McLaren itself has had a great start to the season with five podiums from the opening five races of the season.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 Sonsio Chevrolet started Saturday’s race from fourth place, which is also where he finished. As a result, the New Zealander is in fifth place in the championship heading to the Indianapolis 500, where he will be trying to defend his pole position from 2024.
Scott Dixon in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing was frustrated with the tire rule change on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road course. The Iceman started the race from 16th following a tough qualifying and came through the field to finish the race in fifth place. This resulted in a move to sixth in the standings, albeit 114 points behind his teammate and championship leader Palou.
Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet has moved up two spots to seventh in the championship following his first podium finish of the season. The Australian finished the Sonsio Grand Prix in third place.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist has dropped two places in the championship to eighth place following a 10th-place finish. The Swede will be hoping that the team can improve next week as practice gets underway for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Colton Herta endured a tough race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and is ninth in the championship standings. He dropped one place after retiring from the race due to a mechanical issue.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing showed up in impressive form for the weekend. They qualified very well with all three cars making the Fast Six, and Graham Rahal
dominated the race, looking to end both his own winless streak and Palou’s winning streak. However, a failed strategy allowed the No. 10 Team to have the upper hand, but each of the RLL drivers finished well compared to their previous races this season.
“I genuinely am proud, like I don’t think I locked up once,” Rahal said after the race. “I don’t think I put one wheel wrong. I defended as best I could. I tried to just drive as flawlessly as I could because I knew that was the only way to beat them.”
Rinus VeeKay and Dale Coyne Racing are continuing to surprise us this season! The Dutch driver had another great race on Saturday. He came home in ninth place, and as a result, is now in 10th place in the championship, ahead of both Josef Newgarden and Alexander Rossi, former Indy 500 race winners.
While VeeKay and Dale Coyne Racing are surprising us with success, one driver is surprising us with his struggles: Newgarden. The Tennessee native started Saturday’s race from sixth and finished in 12th place. He heads into the Greatest Spectacle in Racing in two weeks in 12th place in the standings, 152 points behind championship leader Palou.
Newgarden is aiming to be the first driver in IndyCar history to win three Indianapolis 500s in a row, but he will have a lot of work to do to achieve
this. His team has struggled all year and needs to get into race-winning mode for the 500.
In the race for the manufacturers’ championship, Honda has extended their lead over Chevrolet by 93 points heading into the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 25.
While Palou has continued to dominate, the race for places second through eighth in the standings is very close, and the Indianapolis 500 is a beast of its own. Will Palou continue his streak with an elusive 500 win?
