The Spaniard was in pursuit early on after faltering away his start from pole, but regained the advantage with an overcut pit strategy on the second series of pit stops that propelled him into the lead on lap 45 of 85.
However, a restart on lap 68 left Palou with the daunting task of fending off Team Penske’s Will Power heading down the wide Turn 1 of Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 14-turn, 2.439-mile course.
