Red Bull linked Alex Palou hopes ‘incredible’ IndyCar rival will be racing in F1 in 2027

Follow us on Google Discover

IndyCar champion Alex Palou is among several talents in North America who have been linked with a Formula 1 seat in recent years.

The Spaniard, who won his fourth IndyCar title in five years in 2025, has been on the radar of the F1 paddock for some time. Palou was meant to test with McLaren in 2023 after signing a contract with their IndyCar team, but ended up breaking the deal to stay at Chip Ganassi Racing.

Amid the contract dispute, which is still unresolved, the 28-year-old is again emerging on the F1 driver market, as rumours suggested that Red Bull were interested in signing Palou. The Milton Keynes outfit are assessing their options for 2026, with Yuki Tsunoda highly likely to leave in 2025.

Fernando Alonso sent a message to Palou at the Dutch Grand Prix amid the reports. The Spaniard would give Red Bull a highly competitive and exciting driver line-up if he were paired with Max Verstappen.

However, Red Bull have shut down the Palou links, with them set to pursue options within their current driver pool for 2026. It seems that the four-time IndyCar champion’s wait for an F1 seat will continue, or his chance may have already passed.

Alex Palou hopes ‘incredible’ Colton Herta will be racing in Formula 1 in 2027

Palou is not the only IndyCar driver to be linked to an F1 seat this year. Rival Colton Herta was on the shortlist of drivers for Cadillac to consider for their debut season in 2026.

It was believed that the General Motors-backed team would sign an American driver. However, they ended up opting for experience as Cadillac signed Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas to multi-year contracts.

Palou had heard about Herta’s links to F1. Speaking via Marca, he hopes that the ‘incredible’ driver can find his way onto the grid in 2027.

“I’m going to be supporting them because I know they would do an incredible job. And it would help future teams not to be afraid of hiring drivers from here, from America,” he said.

“The level here is very high. F1 sounds like it because young people, like Colton, like Pato, have been doing well here, they have been fighting for championships, for races and they deserve to be able to try it.”

Talking about Herta’s links to F1, he added: “I’ve heard something. I asked him but he didn’t want to give me any attention.

“I don’t know if he would do that because it is the best way he sees, that it would help him get to know all the tracks, to get the super license points and enter in 2027. If so, then hopefully he can achieve it.”

READ MORE: All to know about General Motors’ Cadillac F1 team from engine to drivers

Why did Colton Herta not get a seat at Cadillac in 2026?

It appeared as though Herta would be one of the first names considered for an F1 seat at Cadillac in 2026, given his ties to the team through Andretti in IndyCar. ‘High-ranking’ Cadillac executives really wanted Herta, but Perez and Bottas were the chosen pair.

The main issue surrounding the 25-year-old was superlicence points. He has not obtained enough over three years in IndyCar, having finished seventh in 2025.

He is four points short of the 40-point threshold to obtain one, not to mention he also has limited mileage in an F1 car. As a result, Cadillac turned to Jak Crawford as their American option, but he also missed out on a seat.

With Perez and Bottas contracted until at least 2027, Herta does not have an opening at Cadillac, unless one was to leave the team early. If he is serious about an F1 career, he needs to step up in IndyCar in 2026.