It was the great goal of the season and Palou has more than met. He knew that Chip Ganassi would provide him with a car to fight for the title, but he would have to beat a legend like Scott Dixon on equal terms and also the rest of a very competitive grid.

Already on the first date of the season, at Barber, Alex overcame a great barrier by achieving his first victory in the category; after him would come another two triumphs - and even his first pole, in Portland - and many podiums that would allow him to reach the last round at the top of the championship with only two rivals for the title.

The duties were well done before the Long Beach test, not in vain did he arrive with 35 points ahead of O'Ward and 48 points over Newgarden, but he had to finish the job and, above all, take care of a mechanic that has betrayed him several times this year.

Newgarden put pressure yesterday by getting the pole, but Palou, from tenth place, has managed to manage the race today perfectly to finish in fourth position that has served him to conclude the season with more points than all his rivals.

In this way, Alex has become the first Spanish IndyCar champion driver. What Oriol Servià ‘started’ with that triumph in the Champ Car –he won in 2005 at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit– was finished by Palou today with a sensational performance.