Palou beat VeeKay to pole by the second-closest margin in Indy 500 qualifying history, at 0.004s and 0.006mph last Sunday.
Today, Palou set the fourth fastest lap in the final practice session before the green flag flies on the 107th running of the Indy 500 on Sunday. He said VeeKay wasn’t at all interested in drafting past him, as they practised race simulation running on track together, and questioned his approach.
“He didn't want to pass today,” said Palou of VeeKay. “He just wanted to save fuel on Carb Day and I didn't really understand what he was doing on the track.
“But if he drives normal, yeah, we're going to be exchanging [the lead on Sunday] a lot. I don't know if it's going to be me or somebody else, but yeah, I think when you are second, it's easy to pass, and when you are first, you cannot really do much.
“I just hope that they don't go crazy on the guy that is leading, trying to save fuel while you're leading because that doesn't work and then it's crazy behind. So, if I'm in control, if I'm leading, I'll try and just go and try and play with somebody, and if they don't want to, like Rinus didn't want to today, we'll see what happens.”
Source: Autosport