INDYCAR MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 12, 2023

Alex Palou

Press Conference

Q. How does it feel, the testing?

ALEX PALOU: Yeah, it's interesting. Lots of work since I first got in at Gateway. I did Barber, then this. This morning we couldn't really try much. It was more getting everything ready.

(Indiscernible) at the beginning. I start to think that it might be good enough for making the racing even a little bit better, especially on traffic here.

Q. Have you noticed a difference in how the power is put down going out of the corners compared to Barber?

ALEX PALOU: No. So it's more like how we regen and redeploy, let's say, when we are not using it, it doesn't feel really very much difference.

At Barber, for instance, the balance felt different. It felt a bit tougher. The steering wheel was really heavy. Newgarden said the same thing. Here, like, if you're not using it, you don't even know if you have that added weight or stuff like that. So it didn't change.

Then the only issue I saw this morning is that obviously when you recharge on clean air, you lose a lot of speed. You gain it back. If I recharge here, I'm losing a ton, then I gain it back there.

When you are in traffic, we normally start let's say coasting the start/finish line, I think it's a moment which you recharge and hopefully if you're in third you can still overtake (indiscernible).

We need to see in traffic it might change. I think it's actually going to be better here than in other places.

Q. Does it make timing that much more critical?

ALEX PALOU: Yeah, I think the timing is still going to be really critical. Like, we don't get the huge jump. I don't think you could get a huge jump because it would actually be (indiscernible) when you get a big, big difference.

But timing is still going to be I think more important than having the push to pass or deploying the hybrid system.

Q. (Indiscernible).

ALEX PALOU: That's not how I left Barber. When I left Barber, I think we were at the stage of we were trying to do everything, automatic everything, manual everything, automatic deployment, manual regen.

I think we were experiencing, as far as I know, we still don't have the formula that works best. (Indiscernible) I still have an automatic, really low regen, so at least the balance of the car, it's consistent. But then to have, like, a big difference, Okay, I'm going to regen this lap, this couple of corners, so...

Just to have something for the driver that we can make a difference, I think it's what INDYCAR wants.

Q. Do you like these projects in the off-season where you have a project to work on?

ALEX PALOU: Oh, yeah, I love it. I've been in the car three times already since we finished the season. Otherwise I would have been just at home, just with the family, which I love. But I still can do those kind of stuff, be at the track, be with the car. So, yeah, I love it.

Q. But you have a nursery to set up.

ALEX PALOU: I know. I know. It's been a bit much. I went back to Spain to prepare as much as I could, then here for this week, then I'm back there. Hopefully I can plan as much as I can. I think it's more myself than preparing stuff.

Q. Is it a month or six weeks?

ALEX PALOU: I hope it's six weeks. I hope, just so I can get those two more weeks of sleep. It's planned in six weeks, but who knows. Hopefully it's six.

Q. As you sort through all the elements of this, what is the most significant part of this when next season rolls around, racing this thing?

ALEX PALOU: I think uhm like what's the most...

Q. What excites you the most?

ALEX PALOU: It's a complete different thing. It doesn't look like that from the outside, but it's actually a lot of things that the driver needs to think and stuff. I never had to think about regen at IMS.

It's already a lot of work trying to be on track, weight jacker, bars. Now you need to regen and deploy. You still have the weight jacker and bars. It's a lot of stuff that we're adding, which hopefully it's not too much.

At the moment I feel good. Let's see with traffic if it gets too much. But I think it's super exciting even for the teams, drivers, that we get more stuff to play with. New things are always fun.

Q. There is no push to pass at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Could this be the push to pass device in some ways?

ALEX PALOU: I think that's the idea. It's honestly what I'm looking forward to this afternoon because it can play a big role. If you're leading, let's say, you cannot regen. As soon as you regen, you're going to get passed. If you're second, you can regen a bit, but not too much. And the third, normally these past two years it's just waiting. If you can regen aggressively and hopefully deploy aggressively as well, hopefully overtake and be from third to second, then have more movement, which is what we want.

We want to be able to be in the pack, overtake slowly one by one, and have more chances, which I think we will be able to get that. Let's see this afternoon, but I think so.