IndyCar star claims Alex Palou is a ‘more complete driver’ than Max Verstappen

Alex Palou has established himself as a formidable driver in IndyCar with two title victories.

IndyCar star claims Alex Palou is a ‘more complete driver’ than Max Verstappen

Alex Palou [L], Max Verstappen [R] (images via IMAGO)

Alex Palou won the 2023 IndyCar Championship. The Spanish driver has proved himself to be one of the best drivers in the American series but the 26-year-old has not had the opportunity to bag a seat in Formula 1. Now, IndyCar driver Augustín Canapino has claimed that Palou is even better than Formula 1’s Max Verstappen.

Canapino praised the Spanish driver for his outstanding performance in IndyCar. The Argentinian driver was convinced that the 26-year-old is arguably the best racing driver in the world. However, Augustín Canapino believes that Alex Palou would at least be in the Top 3 globally. He told Fox Argentina, “Palou is out of this world. He is, in my opinion, the best [driver] in the world. And if he’s not the best, he’s one of the best three.”

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The Juncos driver compared Alex Palou to F1’s reigning world champion Max Verstappen. So much so, that Canapino called the Spanish driver a better driver overall than the two-time world champion. However, the Argentinian mentioned that this comparison is subjective. The 33-year-old continued, “In my opinion, he is more complete than Verstappen. What he does in IndyCar is really extraterrestrial for me, although that is very subjective.”

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Augustín Canapino explains why he snubbed Max Verstappen in favor of Alex Palou

Canapino mentioned that Max Verstappen remains one of the best drivers the world has at the moment. However, the 33-year-old believes that racing on Ovals in IndyCar is a far bigger challenge than racing on F1 circuits. The Juncos driver claimed that Alex Palou’s ability to race on a variety of tracks including ovals is what sets him apart from the Red Bull driver.

Alex Palou racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Alex Palou racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (image via IndyStar)

Augustín Canapino stated, “For me racing on ovals is something that makes everything different. Driving on an oval is much more extreme and Formula 1 doesn’t do that. So that’s why for me a driver like Palou is much more complete.” As such, the 33-year-old remained adamant on his views of Palou being a better driver than Max Verstappen.

The Spanish driver has won two IndyCar titles in a span of just three seasons. However, it seems that the 26-year-old is not in a rush to switch to Formula 1 after he snubbed McLaren’s offer earlier this year in favor of continuing with Chip Ganassi in 2024. As such, fans will have to wait for an opportunity to see Palou go head-to-head against Max Verstappen.

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