Can Palou really take on Verstappen as Red Bull team-mate?

IndyCar’s current king, Alex Palou, has once again been linked with a switch to Formula 1.

The Spaniard, who has won four of the last five IndyCar’s championships, has apparently attracted interest from Red Bull according to an Indystar report.

It suggests the Milton Keynes team could be considering the 28-year-old as a possible candidate to drive alongside Max Verstappen in 2026, with his current colleague Yuki Tsunoda third from bottom of the 2025 F1 table with 10 points.

The prospect is certainly intriguing: Palou is one of the most successful drivers outside F1, with not only four IndyCar titles, but also this year’s Indianapolis 500 win to his name.

The Catalan’s success in the American series is almost unprecedented, having secured all his titles in just 91 race starts. He has finished on the podium in 42% of all the races he has competed in.

Palou has been the dominant force in IndyCar for much of the past five years, combining relentless consistency with a calm, calculating approach that often leaves his rivals scrambling to match him.

Few drivers in global motor sport boast such a commanding record in one of the most competitive series, and his Indy 500 triumph underlined his ability to deliver under pressure.

So, on paper, Palou’s credentials are formidable. But could he really go toe-to-toe with Verstappen, already considered an all-time grand prix great?

Palou’s traits

There’s no doubt that Palou possesses several key traits that could make him well-suited for Formula 1.

His exceptional versatility stands out, having won IndyCar races on multiple types of circuits, including road courses, street circuits, and ovals, demonstrating adaptability that is crucial for mastering F1’s diverse track demands.

Palou’s strong racecraft and consistency have been proven by his multiple championships and his ability to manage tyres and fuel intelligently, skills transferable to the highly tactical F1 environment.

His Ganassi team-mate Scott Dixon recently stated that the Spaniard’s dominance in the series has been strengthened by the addition of the hybrid unit to IndyCar, making the cars heavier and therefore placing greater importance on a smoother driving style to look after the tyres – something Palou does brilliantly. This would surely help him in grand prix racing too.

Moreover, his prior experience testing Formula 1 machinery with McLaren showed that he can handle the significant technical and physical demands of F1 cars, where acceleration, braking, and cornering are markedly more intense than in IndyCar.

Perhaps most importantly, Palou has a winning mindset, which aligns with the high-pressure environment of a top team like Red Bull – as demonstrated by his relentless approach to IndyCar even in the most recent races.

Having secured the IndyCar championship in Portland, he was still massively reluctant to give up the race win at the next round in Milwaukee, pushing eventual winner Christian Rasmussen right up the wall as they fought for the lead late on.

But while his talent is beyond doubt, the step into Red Bull’s pressure cooker presents challenges far greater than simply translating speed from one championship to another.

The barriers Palou would face

Palou is now 28, and while that is not old by F1 standards, it is late for a driver with no grand prix experience to make his debut. In recent times, it is almost unheard of for a driver to make his debut that late.

Formula 1 rookies typically arrive with years of single-seater mileage in F2 or F3, whereas Palou’s public F1 exposure has been limited to a solitary practice outing with McLaren in 2022 at the US GP in Austin.

The adjustment to the technical intensity of F1 – car development, simulation work, tyre management, and the sheer scrutiny of the paddock – would represent a steep learning curve.

It has been decades since an IndyCar driver made a successful transition to F1, Jacques Villeneuve (29 years ago) and Juan Pablo Montoya (24 years ago) the most recent cases.

It has been far more common for drivers to move from F1 to IndyCar rather than the other way around, and the current performance and technical gap between the one-make IndyCar series and F1 machinery makes the jump from the American series a huge challenge.

The limited amount of testing also doesn’t help, and the 2026 regulations are expected to place a somewhat greater emphasis on a driver’s understanding and management of complex new technical parameters, such as energy deployment, hybrid power unit management, and active aerodynamics.

That means that previous experience of that is definitely a plus for a driver, and that is something that Palou would be lacking.

The ultimate question facing Alex Palou

Red Bull, meanwhile, faces its own dilemma after having become essentially a one-driver team.

The Milton Keynes squad is enduring a downturn in form and urgently needs some stability alongside Verstappen, who has not had a competitive team-mate in a long while now.

The second Red Bull seat is proving almost a career graveyard for talented drivers (including Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Tsunoda) unable to thrive under the weight of expectation, so parachuting in a complete newcomer, however gifted, would carry huge risk, both for the team and for Palou himself.

And that without taking into consideration that he would be partnering Verstappen, a driver who keeps destroying his team-mates’ reputations.