Alex Palou: 'It's not easy to win races.' The hard way he makes it look easy

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – The first race of the 2026 season was truly a battle for second place, much like many IndyCar races in 2025. That’s because Alex Palou, who won eight of the 17 races last year, controlled the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg unchallenged on Sunday. Palou won his second consecutive Grand Prix of St. Petersburg by 12.4948 seconds, the largest winning margin in the 23-race history of the event. There were questions about whether Palou could maintain a similar stranglehold on the sport in 2026, and the early results are promising for the four-time IndyCar champion. Palou began the race in fourth place after Scott McLaughlin won Saturday’s pole. Every driver and team entered the...