"I don't care": Alex Palou gets blunt about IndyCar's latest chassis decision

Chip Ganassi Racing star Alex Palou was recently questioned about IndyCar's decision to postpone the new regulation changes by another year. The championship leader wasn't concerned by the American open-wheel racing series’ decision and shared his thoughts on it.

The current IndyCar chassis, the Dallara DW12, is over a decade old, and the same goes for the engines, the 2.2L V6 Turbo. While a hybrid system was integrated with the ICE (internal combustion engine) last year, the racing has been more or less the same for the drivers while significantly increasing the costs.

Considering these factors, Roger Penske and Co. announced that IndyCar will introduce a host of new regulation changes for the 2027 season, including a new chassis, engines, and other smaller changes. However, as per the latest reports, teams were informed that these regulations have been pushed to 2028.

Three-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou was questioned about IndyCar's decision to delay the regulations. The CGR driver gave a blunt answer as he said,

“Honestly, at the end of the day, I don't care. Would I like a new car that looks a little bit better and has more power? Yes, but do I really care? At the end of the day, no, I don't care, as long as everybody has the same exact car and that the racing is good.” (1:45 onwards) “If it delays one year, two years, I do not care. And hopefully that gives enough time to everybody, like all the teams, Dallara, IndyCar, to come up with a great solution that everybody's happy about visually, and also speed-wise and power-wise. So, yeah, at the end of the day, I don't care, man,” added Palou.

Dallara began developing the new chassis earlier this year and is on time to deliver it for the 2027 season.

According to reports, the issues came with the new engine regulations, which required a manufacturer to have at least 18 months to R&D, develop, test, and manufacture the power units for the teams. With the 2025 season at the midway point and pushing the 18-month limit for 2027, the decision was made to delay the regulations by a year.

Alex Palou's success with the present IndyCar regulations

Alex Palou made his IndyCar debut in 2020 with DCR and joined Chip Ganassi Racing the very next year. In his first year with a big team, the Spaniard won the IndyCar championship. Palou would go on to win the championship thrice in his first four years with CGR.

IndyCar introduced the hybrid system midway through last year, and the Spaniard flourished with the updated power unit. Palou finished in the top five 14 times out of the 18 races. The start to the current season was even more impressive with five wins and a podium in the first six races.

Kyle Kirkwood is the only other driver to have won a race this season. While the Spaniard did lose his form since the Indy 500 victory, it seems inevitable that anyone will be able to stop Alex Palou from winning his fourth title.

Edited by Nicolaas Ackermann