Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou will get his first taste of a Formula One race weekend in Austin Texas on Friday as he will take part in Free Practice One at the Circuit of the Americas ahead of Sunday’s United States Grand Prix.
The Spaniard who joined McLaren’s test of on old F1 car program will join the likes of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Sebastian Vettel on track on Friday morning.
It will be really interesting to see how Palou gets on in the Mercedes-powered MCL36 as he is used to having no power steering in his No.10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. The Spaniard has yet to experience the Circuit of the Americas as the NTT IndyCar Series last raced at the Austin circuit in 2019 just one year before Palou made his debut with Dale Coyne Racing.
Speaking following the news that he will drive in Free Practice One at the Circuit of the Americas, Palou said:
“I’m so excited to be making my F1 weekend debut. It’s great to be driving in the United States in front of fans that may have seen me race in INDYCAR. Having driven the 2021 McLaren MCL35M in a few tests now, I can’t wait to put the MCL36 through its paces. I look forward to helping the team in their preparation for the 2022 United States Grand Prix.”