For a few months now, the fine folks in the IndyCar Series have kept a lot of fans on their toes. Whether it was the Rossi rumors that started to fly in April, or the talk of the town in May that Palou was the hot target of McLaren, the rumors kept on keeping on.

First came the confirmation at Detroit when Alexander Rossi was confirmed as the 2nd…or 3rd..driver for McLaren in 2023. Leaving behind the team that gave him his first shot in Indy, made him a household name, and for the better part of this season, decided that being the 4th best team was better than anything.

That’s not a hard knock on Andretti, they’ve just tried playing with a bunch of aces instead of quality teammates. You look back at when Andretti was in it’s heyday as a racing team. The likes of Bryan Herta, Tony Kanaan, Dan Wheldon, Dario Franchitti, Ryan Hunter Reay…these names surround a time where Andretti was in its prime. I don’t know when it went south, but perhaps the lack of championships and Indy 500 wins during that run was enough to bring out the Jim Beam and turn the whole thing upside down.

This past season they went from consummate teammate and professional RHR, to a hungry and always willing to go hard, Romain Grosjean. Let’s face it, Romain has never won an award for most likeable teammate. In fact, that’s not even the dudes damn job. He’s paid to be a racing driver that’s supposed to win.

Add in the mix of the never shy but always sounds like it Colton Herta, Rossi was the competitive yet quiet bystander in the mix. It’s not his fault the world fell in love twice over with his teammates. Whether it was from the King Taco love at Long Beach, or to recover from a fireball in Bahrain, both of Rossi’s teammates had an attraction he couldn’t quite compete with, nor understand. Of the 3, Rossi is the only Indy 500 Winner and the only team member to have a chance at a Series Championship (let’s point out a fact that Colton Herta had a shot in 2021 but threw away the house when he crashed in Nashville).

With all the in mind, Rossi’s move was 10000% expected. You could see he was ready to move, ready for something new. His engineer had moved positions, he hadn’t been the same driver without him. It’s not saying that’s exactly the reason, but there’s something to be said about comfort in knowing the voice on the other side of the mic is someone you trust. Brian Barnhart seems to be doing an okay job, but his reputation and questionable decision making as an IndyCar official has any driver running for him wondering if he’ll give him 4 good ones.

It was just time for a move.

But that wasn’t enough for the rumors and stories coming out. Who was going to fill seat #2…#3 (I guess it’s #2 because Rossi got the 3rd McLaren car). Was my boy Flex aka Felix Rosenqvist going to stay or was he on his way out.

Well, his contract is extended as part of the McLaren racing family…so he’s staying, or he’s going where?

Can you be more vague? He might be in IndyCar, he might be in Formula E, he might be riding a scooter or a dune buggy next season that has McLaren on the side of the car…no body knows.

And around this time more and more speculation as to who was going to be the driver lineup in 2023 kept flying. Now instead of Palou (who Jenna Fryer of the AP reported they had tried to go after) was it maybe Rinus Veekay? Could it be an outsider like Stoffel Vandoorne, Nico Hulkenburg, or someone..anyone…else.

This is about the time the tinfoil hat came out for me. I said the stuff no one else was saying out loud at home. I pointed to McLaren’s F1 results and said “the media sure is shitting on Danny Ric, I bet he’d fit in nicely here”. This wasn’t just speculation, this was something I noticed with Ricciardo over the years. He want’s to feel important, special, and like he has a voice. Like the team he drives for cares about his wellbeing and helps him have the support network necessary to overcome adversity. You look back at when he left Red Bull Racing, and it was for that reason. He thought he was a #1 driver and wanted the power and voice the #1 drivers had. Renault made the promise to him, only for it to not tun out as expected.

So tinfoil hat proud, I started telling family members that watched IndyCar. They all thought I was kidding…like I took the piss and had 12 too many Old Fashioned’s before telling them this. I had no reason to feel this way though.

And the exact situation that I expected showed it’s hand. They were trying to get Herta to F1, but Herta is too far back in standings right now to qualify for the SuperLicense. Some seat time in their car and help ensure he had a SuperLicense before 2024 (the seat time came this past weekend fyi).

That’s when the exact situation that I expected showed it’s hand. They were trying to get Herta to F1, but Herta is too far back in standings right now to qualify for the SuperLicense. Perhaps they would keep him as a reserve driver, keep Oward and Rossi in their respective seats, and find another hot shot to get into F1 with Lando Norris. There are only 3 drivers in the IndyCar Series who are eligible. Palou, Dixon, Newgarden.

Dixon, maybe he’s too old, but I don’t think that would stop him. Zac Brown had been very vocal about approaching Dixon early on in McLaren’s entry to IndyCar. Dixon had driven a test in an F1 car many moons ago, so he had some interest. I just don’t think it’s the right fit.

Newgarden…he’s an American kid that loves the series. Do I think he’d run F1? Absolutely. Do I think he’d leave Penske? No. Penske made Newgarden a winner, not only in races but in the Series as a whole. I just couldn’t fathom Josef Newgarden being a) in an F1 paddock where fan interaction isn’t always great, and b) driving for anyone but Roger Penske.

So who’s left? Alex Palou. The young Spaniard, and 2020 IndyCar Series Champion. A kid who started in IndyCar as a secondary thought, jumped over to Ganassi and has been one of the best drivers in the past two seasons. Outside of Marcus Ericsson, there’s probably no better driver in terms of consistency for Ganassi than Palou.

Palou also has openly stated his aspirations to race in F1, but obviously the right chance has to fall in his lap.

Then July 12th, 2022 happened. The day that all hell broke loose on the IndyCar Twitter and anywhere else. It started with a simple tweet.

Chip Ganassi Racing announced today that the team has exercised its option to extend @AlexPalou through the 2023 season.

“Alex’s track record speaks for itself. He’s a proven champion and one of the most formidable drivers in the world.” – @GanassiChiphttps://t.co/PTIcqIp37N pic.twitter.com/9coZ12KhOh

— Chip Ganassi Racing (@CGRTeams) July 12, 2022