Palou started third in his Chip Ganassi Racing entry but was into the lead before the end of the first lap, having taken advantage of the extra grip from the red-sidewalled Firestones.
He went on to lead 52 of the 85 laps, and was able to outpace polesitter Christian Lundgaard of Rahal Letterman Lanigan and then the Arrow McLaren of Pato O’Ward to score his fifth IndyCar victory, and his first of the season.
“We knew starting on the alternates we needed to go hard and try and get the lead as fast as possible,” said the 2021 champion. “I think the alternates had two, three laps that they were a lot better. Afterwards, you kind of got stuck behind.
“I tried [to pass Lundgaard] in Turn 1. He went really aggressive. It was right, it was perfect what he did, but yeah, I wanted it to be something easier! We were able to get it on the last corner. That was good.”
In this three-stop race, Palou’s tyre sequence was fresh alternates, new primaries, used primaries, new primaries. He said the choice for ending in that manner was to ensure he had good grip in the event of a late caution period.
Asked if it surprised him that others hadn’t done the same, he responded, “It did, it did. For us it was clear.
“We were struggling a little bit more than some of the guys on used reds in the warm-up [session]. But still it's not like they were amazing. We knew that we didn't want to use used reds. That's why we started on new alternates, try to get the lead, try to get a big gap, like two, three, four, seconds, then work on our pace on blacks. Once I saw the starting grid with the tyres, we were like, ‘OK, we're in a good place.’
Source: Autosport