Alex Palou is riding high this week following his history-making Indianapolis 500 win—yet his focus is already centered on staying physically fresh and mentally razor sharp for his next race.

The 28-year-old Spaniard is no longer just known only by those in the auto racing know. By crossing the finish line first at the Brickyard this past Sunday, Palou instantly became a global superstar. And he’s been on top of the world all week—or at least as high as the observation deck of New York City’s Empire State Building, just one of dozens of media commitments which also included stops at Nasdaq headquarters, a New York Mets game, and appearances on dozens and dozens of talk shows worldwide.

Even while enjoying all this celebratory chaos, Palou found ways to squeeze in moments to maintain physical fitness, formal attire and all. “I try and keep moving—I was doing some pushups just to get blood flowing,” he says. “It’s tough because I don’t have much time, and it’s not good to be sitting all day or moving less than I normally do.”

For Palou, maintaining peak physical condition has become a non-negotiable—his endurance on and off the track has helped fuel the unmatched mental acuity that has set him apart from opponents by a wide margin this year.So far in 2025, Palou has won five of six races, and one runner up.

Part of his success lies in his ability to maximize every moment, even if it’s a few body-weight reps at a time.

So what was behind the masterful strategy to overtake runner-up Marcus Ericsson on Lap 187 —an inside pass that is already permanently etched as one the most exhilarating moments in IndyCar history? What appeared to many race observers as Palou taking advantage of a moment of opportunity at the very last second was in fact, according to the three-time Indycar champion, a meticulously calculated maneuver miles in the making.

“I’d been thinking about that move for 20 laps,” Palou reveals. “That’s where the chess game starts… I was second, and [Ericsson] was first. There was some traffic, and I started feeling the car, getting runs, and scouting my moment. Once I saw a gap with a good run, I knew I had to make the move early. Waiting would only hurt me and shrink my chances. When the opportunity came, I went for it.”

Palou’s calm yet relentless mental approach didn’t just help claim him the lead—he admits a split-second decisions saved him from a catastrophic mistake in a race already filled with chaos and calamity.

“People don’t always see how much we’re pushing the limits until something big happens,” he reflects. “But we’re always there—right there on the edge.”

Preparation Leads to ‘Luck’ for Alex Palou

The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 was filled with drama even before the race began. Pole sitter Scott McLaughlin lost control during warmups and never took the green flag. Rookie pole sitter Robert Schwarzman misjudged his pit crew’s position, crashing into them before the race even started. Kyle Larson’s ambitious effort to complete both the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Charlotte 600 in one day ended when he spun into the wall. Alexander Rossi’s threw his gloves in his disgust after a gearbox failure led to a fiery pit lane explosion.

In the chaos, Palou’s calm and control carried him through—but not without having to avoid his own race-ending disaster. While things looked smooth from start to finish for the Indy 500 winner, with about 15 laps left during his final pit stop, Palou admits to approaching Pit Road too fast, causing his car to slide sideways. If he received a delay penalty—his day would be over long before his thrilling win.

“I went into the pit super quick—too quick,” he says. “If I was just 2 mph over, I would’ve been out of the race.”

As a champion, however, the faster Palou was able to let go of a bad situation and move on was as important as the speed of his Ganassi No. 10 DHL Honda.

“As soon as I entered [Pit Lane] and it was all good, I got on the radio and said, ‘Pit Lane, that it,’” he says. “It just takes half a second to switch your mind and be like, Okay, next. You cannot really focus on just happened— good or bad. That’s gone, we need to focus on what’s next.”

For Alex Palou, Racing Is a Chess Game on and off the Track

Palou’s race-winning execution in passing Ericsson on Lap 187 was never a matter of if, but a matter of when. “I knew I was doing it, and I knew I’m doing it that lap,” he says.  “You’re just deciding whether you’re going on the inside or the outside.”

Despite all the precision in physical and mental preparation that led to Palou’s victory, Mother Nature did her best to derail the three-time Indycar winner’s plans before the race even began. Another of the hidden challenges of Sunday’s race was staying hydrated, even in cool 60-degree conditions. Sunday’s 36-minute rain delay didn’t help, playing havoc with Palou’s fluid balance while the cars remained still on the track.

While the 375,000-plus fans at the sold-out Indianapolis Motor Speedway were celebrating his win, outside of Victory Lane, Palou’s first request was a bottle of water.

“I was hydrating a lot before the race,” he recalls, “so before it started, I felt like I had to pee because we weren’t sweating, it wasn’t warm, and we weren’t moving.” But once the green flag waved, the difficulty persisted. “Throughout the race, the need just kept increasing. I couldn’t drink much during the race—I had a drink system, but I was already full and couldn’t take in more water.”

Dehydration hit hard once the race was over. “As soon as I finished, I was dehydrated because I hadn’t hydrated during the race. Then I started running and celebrating, and the excitement hit me suddenly—I felt bad. I needed water, air, space. There were tons of cameras and people from the team around me, and I was like, ‘Guys, just give me one second, please.’ Then I relaxed a little after drinking some water, and I felt great again.”

The physical toll was caught on camera, but Palou’s day was only warming up. Later that evening, wearing the iconic Indy wreath, he was the guest of honor at the NBA Eastern Conference championship game between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. TNT NBA analyst Reggie Miller couldn’t help but ask about Palou’s Whoop score—a biometric measure of exertion and recovery.

Palou admitted his score was pretty high, but not entirely because of the race itself. “It was 20—it was high, but not crazy,” he says. Whoop detected an activity separate from the race, and that was the celebration. I burned more calories and used more energy [celebrating] than I did in the race.”

Learning from Mistakes Is the Key to Indycar Dominance

Developing the ability to stay calm and focused is a skill Palou says can’t come from simply watching film or hitting weightroom. It’s years repetition—and losing—at the highest levels of racing and entry-level go kart racing that helped prepare Palou to become racing’s most dominant driver. “I think you prepare that during your career,” he says. “It’s something that you start developing when you’re a kid in go karts and you’re doing races and more races, and you get in different scenarios. If there’s a gap, you go for it, or maybe it’s not enough. It’s a skill that you develop throughout the years.”

One of Palou’s most memorable and painful lessons that has helped with his development was his 2021 runner up finish to four-time Indy champion Helio Castroneves. “He was able to read the traffic a lot better than I was at that time,” he admits.  “He actually used the traffic into his advantage …and I was the opposite…You never know until you go for it. But I had an idea that it was a similar situation to what I had in 2021.”

Same Old Alex Palou This Sunday

Throughout this week’s celebrations, Palou says he did his best to at least keep his diet in check while his training was limited. “I’ve been eating really good and healthy so far,” he says. “It’s going to put me in the right position. My throat was bad after the celebration, but it’s getting better. I’ll eat a salad with quinoa and a lot of fruit to get as many vitamins as possible.”

When the sessions are all over, it’s back to work for Palou, starting with this Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. He then gets a well-earned two-week break before heading to Bommarito Auto Group s 500 on June 15.

I’m going to allow myself to enjoy every single second of it until next year,” he says.  “But that doesn’t change that when we go to Detroit. I cannot finish 15th and be like, yeah, I finished 15th, but I’m the Indy 500 winner. It doesn’t go like that for me.”

Following Sunday’s race, Palou will take advantage of his brief break to relax as much as possible at home as possible and give his body the rest it deserves—that means recovery.

“It’s gonna be nice to be at home, relax, get some some sleep, recover. and start building again,” he says. “Need to start building all that muscle I’ve lost over the past two weeks. It was intense at the speedway these past two weeks. You’re there for 12 hours a day—theres no time to do anything else.”