Alex Palou has joined the list of Spanish drivers who have driven a Formula 1 car at some point in their lives. The Catalan, Indycar champion in 2021, has thus begun his career as a member of McLaren’s TPC program (test of previous cars), which will give him the opportunity to test and gain experience behind the wheel of single-seaters from the legendary British team.
Specifically, at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Palou is testing the McLaren MCL35M with which Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo completed the 2021 Formula 1 season. Palou’s work with the Woking car began yesterday at the Spanish track, which also It is his home circuit and the one he knows best, but until today we have not been able to see the first photos.
Although details about the program that Palou is carrying out in Barcelona have not come out, it is to be expected that he is carrying out a work of adaptation to a mechanic that he does not know and with which he has never competed. Along with him are other pilots of the program, such as Colton Herta or Patricio O’Ward.
For Palou, this is the first approach to Formula 1 of his sports career, after having followed another path to succeed in motorsport. The Catalan driver, after leaving very good feelings in the Japanese Super Formula and Formula 3 categories, made the leap to Indycar with the Dale Coyne Racing team.
After a year of good results in a more modest team, Alex signed for Chip Ganassi, the benchmark Indycar team, where he won the title in his first season there. In his second year-this 2022-he has also fought for the championship, although he has finally been fifth.
In 2023, despite his attempt to sign for McLaren – which also has an Indycar team – to pursue the dream of Formula 1, Palou will continue at Ganassi Racing after having reached an agreement with them. However, the American team has allowed him to join the McLaren test programme, which could be key to seeing Palou in the premier class in the future.
At least with McLaren it cannot be in the short term, since the British team has just signed Oscar Piastri with a contract until the end of 2024 and Lando Norris has a firm agreement until that same season. In the meantime, he can continue to add kilometers behind the wheel of an F1 car and continue to triumph in Indycar.
