The Thermal Club, much like the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series championship, continues to belong to Alex Palou.
IndyCar’s first points race at the southern California track ended much like last year’s $1 Million Challenge, with Palou at the front of the field. But unlike in his dominant, all-lap-leading first appearance at the road course, the two-time defending champion had to work for this win.
Palou rolled off third, fading on his reds in the Fast 6 after dominating all prior rounds of qualifying. That left the Spaniard trailing Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard for the bulk of Sunday’s The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix, but in the final stint Palou set off on a march to the front.
Running on the softer red tire, Palou took time to find a way under Lundgaard for second. But he ultimately got the better of the Dane after a memorable battle across multiple turns on lap 59 of 65.
The Chip Ganassi Racing star then chased down O’Ward, closing a gap of nearly 10 seconds in the span of five laps. Palou dove under O’Ward for the lead at the end of the backstretch with 10 to go and took a lead he wouldn’t relinquish. From there Palou managed his tires and marched off to a comfortable 10.1854-second win, keeping O’Ward at bay even after he got trapped trying to lap the Mexican’s Arrow McLaren teammate, Nolan Siegel, in the final laps.
Sunday’s win was Palou’s 13th in IndyCar competition, giving him a third-consecutive season with multiple wins. He’s two-for-two on the year, having also claimed the opener in St. Petersburg.
Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, Patricio O’ward, Arrow McLaren
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
“What an amazing weekend,” Palou said. “Honestly, we’ve had a really fast car since practice. They executed very well. Everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing, the 10 car, executed perfectly.”
O’Ward led a race-high 51 laps after securing his first pole since 2022, but had to settle for second after Palou’s late charge. Lundgaard completed the podium for Arrow McLaren, with Colton Herta and Felix Rosenqvist capping off the top five. Will Power rallied from 21st to take sixth, with Marcus Armstrong, Kyle Kirkwood, Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon completing the top-10.
Colton Herta, Andretti Global
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
Green flag running from flag to flag
In a race with few incidents, there was little margin for error. The top-four starters remained n the top four. Eight of the top-10 finishers also started in the top-10, and of the other two one (Dixon) started just one spot back in 11th. There were no cautions, and only Scott McLaughlin dropped out of the race, having lost multiple laps with an overheating hybrid unit.
McLaughlin was caught up in a crash coming to the green, trading twin spins with Devlin DeFrancesco after the pair made contact deep in the field. But they each continued on. Callum Ilott had to pit for a new nose after clattering into Prema Racing teammate Robert Shwartzman from behind. Marcus Ericsson went for a solo spin after his first pit stop, but continued on without issue.
IndyCar will be back in action for the iconic Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 13.
Photos from Thermal Club – Race
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