Written by Dan Jones, Edited by Morgan Holiday
Álex Palou became the first driver since Scott Dixon in 2020 to win the opening two races of a season. A magical final stint saw him hound down Pato O'Ward to take victory at The Thermal Club and propel him to a 39 point lead at the top of the IndyCar standings. Dan takes you through the winners and losers of the weekend.
Winner: Álex Palou
Dominant. Inevitable. Perfect. Unstoppable. What words can we even use to describe the brilliance of Palou? Palou was the heavy favourite pre-weekend, I cannot recall such collective confidence in a winner before the weekend action had even started. That in itself is a true testament to the racer that Palou is, but the fact that he managed to back up the confidence that everyone had in him in such a spellbinding fashion is remarkable.
There was a collective shock when Palou didn't claim pole, but his race day performance was vintage Palou, quietly getting the work done in the opening stints before executing the strategy to perfection when it mattered, racing wheel-to-wheel with Christian Lundgaard in excellent fashion before scything into O'Ward's lead.
After going back-to-back in the opening two rounds, Palou has an unfathomable 39 point lead in the standings. Yes, there is plenty of racing left in the season, but the fact that the field is already playing major catch-up after race two makes you feel Palou is already in prime position for a fourth IndyCar title. The Spaniard is really starting to make the unpredictable feel predictable.
Winner: Arrow McLaren
The only drivers who could lay a finger on Palou's victory at Thermal were the Arrow McLaren pair of Christian Lundgaard and O'Ward, both of whom shone in the Thermal weekend - despite it being a venue that the team struggled at in the $1 Million Challenge last year.
O'Ward took an unlikely but fantastic pole - his first in three years. And O'Ward did exactly what he needed to do in the opening stints - build a sizeable gap out at the front and set himself up for a victory - until Palou's brilliance stepped in once again, and there was not much O'Ward could do about that.
Lundgaard's early life at McLaren continues to suggest he's exactly the driver that Arrow McLaren have been looking for. He completed McLaren's first front-row lockout since they returned to the series in 2020, and displayed excellent racecraft when in combat with Palou. Lundgaard has already been impressive in his first two outings with papaya, and is exactly the challenge that a driver like O'Ward has needed.
Both were quite dejected that neither of themselves finished in victory lane, however, the confidence continue to build for Arrow McLaren after a particularly turbulent last 12 months. They may still leave Thermal scratching their heads at how to stop Palou, but they also leave with a first double-podium since 2023 and a belief that they can fight at the front.
Winner: Meyer Shank Racing
As was the case in 2024, Meyer Shank Racing have started their season excellently. They have continued to establish themselves as top of the IndyCar midfield, backed up by their best ever combined result as a two-car operation with Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong fifth and seventh respectively.
Rosenqvist's luck really dropped off at the end of 2024 after an excellent start to the season, but he has bounced back superbly early on in 2025. A top five finish at Thermal was his first since Barber last year as he lies fifth in the very early championship standings.
As for Armstrong, a seventh place was exactly the sort of result he needed after a clumsy end to his day in St. Petersburg. Both cars qualified in the Fast 12 once again, which is now becoming a rather regular occurrence, both on ovals and road/street tracks - and they are starting to execute better on Sundays too.
The team really continues to knock on the door of the top four teams, and Rosenqvist and Armstrong are truly showing themselves as a capable driver pairing who can continue to lead the team forward.
Winner: Will Power
It may have been a disastrous weekend for Team Penske, but it was a very satisfying one for Will Power. An opening lap crash in St. Petersburg put the pressure on Power to secure a good result at The Thermal Club, as his future at the team is in question with David Malukas waiting on the wings.
Power qualified a lowly 21st, with the team abnormally showing a huge lack of pace. That result was frustrating, but Power's drive to sixth on Sunday was inspired - being the biggest mover of the race which was quite the achievement at a venue where overtaking was expected to be difficult and there were no cautions to bail him out.
The Australian can't rely on the performances of Malukas, but the Lithuanian-American struggled at Thermal whilst Power shone on race day. Penske are known to get their contracts done very early in the season, and it is these results which really matter as crunch time approaches for Power's future. This weekend was exactly the bounce-back he needed after St. Petersburg.
Loser: Team Penske
Power may have shone, but he only did so because of how disastrous the team performed all weekend long. Team Penske was completely void of pace in practice, which transferred over to qualifying with the cars finishing 17th, 21st and 25th - the first time that all Penske cars had not made it out of the opening qualifying group since Portland in 2021.
Josef Newgarden was completely anonymous throughout the action at The Thermal Club and finished in an underwhelming 13th. These sort of events were too common a feature in Newgarden's very difficult 2024 season, and if he sees himself as a genuine title challenger, he cannot afford such anonymity on a regular basis.
Scott McLaughlin's weekend was also disastrous. He spun in his opening qualifying run before qualifying last in his group. He was the victim of Devlin DeFrancesco's clumsiness on the opening lap of the race before having to end his Sunday early due to his hybrid overheating. A lot of the factors were outside McLaughlin's control, but maybe you make your own luck starting 25th.
It was a very rare off-weekend for the team. With three championship-calibre drivers in their line-up, they cannot afford such weekends again when battling with Palou for a championship.
Loser: The hybrid
IndyCar's latest technological innovation continued to prove unpopular at the Thermal Club with a plethora of hybrid issues throughout the weekend causing many drivers to continue to question its use. With temperatures high in the Coachella Valley, the hybrid became particularly prone to overheating, not helped by the dust on the side of the circuit.
Alexander Rossi had to replace two hybrids during practice, which did not set a good tone for the weekend. Several teams ran 'airflow blockers' which prevented cool air from entering the engine causing the system to effectively shut down until the hybrid was cooled.
Both O'Ward and Lundgaard were unable to use the hybrid for large portions of the race along with Santino Ferrucci. McLaughlin was forced to retire when his hybrid overheated.
When O'Ward asked how on edge were the cars at Thermal, the Mexican driver was critical of the hybrid: "You used to have them a lot on the edge without the hybrid, but with all this weight in the rear, they just plough like pigs really." He added that he has effectively had to change his driving style to adapt to the added weight of the equipment.
For a spec part to have so many recurring issues after 18 months of on-track development is bitterly disappointing. Is there much point in having a system which only works for 75% of the field at any given time? IndyCar must address these issues so all teams are on a level playing field when it comes to the hybrid.
Loser: FOX
After the IndyCar-FOX relationship started encouragingly at St. Petersburg, Thermal provided a bit more of a challenge, and the final results failed to live up to expectations. The effect was only worsened by an embarrassing mid-race blackout which left fans in the dark for 20 minutes of the race.
Both practice sessions were plagued with technical issues - particularly on the international feed, which at times showed a completely different broadcast to that of the US feed. Things would improve throughout the weekend until a failed circuit breaker on Sunday left fans completely in the dark for 12 laps. Technical issues do happen, but it seemed as if there was no alternative, and for this to happen in FOX's second race with the series was a complete and utter disaster.
Viewership figures will always be the biggest sign though - as the series clashed with NASCAR's action from Homestead-Miami. Final viewership numbers showed at 704,000, down 84,000 on what was achieved by NBC last season.
It's a hugely worrying 50% drop from the season opener in the Streets of St. Petersburg, and after all the hard work done by FOX pre-season when it came to promotional efforts, it's disappointing to see numbers down in comparison to NBC. The blackout was also embarrassing for both the network and the series. Scheduling both NASCAR and IndyCar simultaneously was a clear error, and they must bounce back at Long Beach.
Loser: The fans
It doesn't feel right that IndyCar is racing at a state-of-the-art facility built exclusively for motorsport enthusiasts. It's not the type of venue IndyCar should be aspiring to race at, and it's a venue that remains extremely unpopular with fans of the series. It's this disconnect between leadership and fans that has plagued the series for seasons.
Yes, I did think the racing was actually at a decent standard and it was better than expected with over 200 on-track passes for position, but is a racing product really worth it if there are not sufficient fans at the venue to enjoy it? Numbers being capped at 5000 with the venue otherwise being heavily guarded just feels like the disconnection that IndyCar needs to avoid.
The Thermal Club was never designed with professional racing in mind, it has plenty of run-off, which potentially contributed to the series first caution-free race since 2020. Why should IndyCar prioritise venues like this as opposed to high-speed ovals and key markets such as the Northwest - when the series already hosts two races in California?
Last year's experiment with the circuit made more sense but a venue so detached from the public should never be hosting a competitive, points-paying IndyCar race.
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