‘It’s all my fault’ for pit stop delay that cost race – Motorsport Week

Alex Palou appeared poised to claim another IndyCar victory last weekend at Mid-Ohio, but he couldn’t maintain the lead he built during the race’s opening stint.

As the second stint drew to a close, Pato O’Ward was close behind and looking for an opportunity to take the lead.

That opportunity came when Palou was slow to get going after his final pit stop on lap 55. It appeared the Spaniard simply failed to get going once the service was over, but there was more at stake.

Palou had attempted to engage first gear while the car was still being refueled, causing the car to reject his request to shift. The few seconds spent scrambling to engage the gear once the car was refueled were enough for O’Ward to move into the lead.

“I just tried to go into first gear too early,” Palou admitted after the race. “My mechanics were really good with the tires and you can’t go into first gear when the tank is full. So yeah, I just tried, and it was rejected.”

“It was like, I don’t know, half a second or a second. Yeah, totally my fault. If you try (to shift) when the tank is up, it doesn’t let you. Then all of a sudden they released me and I couldn’t do it because there was a little delay.

“Our entry lap was pretty terrible, there was traffic, I didn’t engage first gear like I usually do because I knew I had a crazy entry lap. It didn’t work.

“It’s a little bit worse when you know you had the car and everything you needed to win, but despite everything it was a good day on the podium.”

Palou was able to close in on O’Ward’s gearbox in the closing laps of the race, but there were few opportunities to overtake and he had to settle for second.

The reigning champion has nevertheless increased his points lead and now has a 48-point lead over Will Power heading into the oval part of the season.