Alex Palou drops hilarious reaction after FIA's IndyCar Super Licence announcement

Four-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou dropped a hilarious reaction to the FIA revamping the Super Licence Points allocation for IndyCar beginning from 2026. The FIA's decision came after it faced yearlong criticism over undermining the caliber of IndyCar drivers and awarding more points to the F1 feeder series like F2.

Colton Herta's example seemingly acted as a case study. The Andretti Global driver failed to secure an F1 seat twice over the past three years because he couldn't gather the required 40 points for a Super Licence. As a last shot at realizing his F1 dream, Herta left IndyCar after the 2025 season to race in F2 with Hitech GP in 2026.

The new allocation for the Top 10 IndyCar drivers will be 40-30-25-20-15-10-8-6-3-1 instead of 40-30-20-10-8-6-4-3-2-1. Though it is still undervalued compared to F2, the increase will ease the talent pathway from IndyCar to F1.

Reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou, who has won the title thrice consecutively, has 120 points (The FIA considers points accumulated over a three-year period before a driver's F1 entry). On Wednesday, after the FIA's announcement, he jokingly flaunted his achievement in an X post.

"I have 2 super licenses for SALE. They haven’t been used, only serious inquiries," the Chip Ganassi Racing driver wrote.

Alex Palou Montalbo

@AlexPalou

@Hickey93 I have 2 super licenses for SALE. They haven’t been used, only serious inquiries.

Though Alex Palou's points tally remains the same under both the new and old allocation regimes, Colton Herta's doesn't. The American driver would've been eligible to join AlphaTauri in 2023 (with 41 points instead of 32) and with Cadillac F1 in 2026 (with 39 points instead of 34) if the new system had been applied retroactively. In the second case, he would've had to complete one FP1 session with any team and reach the 40-point mark.

Alex Palou 'hated' the FIA's old Super Licence system that spoiled Colton Herta's F1 dream

Christian Lundgaard, Alex Palou, and Colton Herta on the podium at the 2025 INDYCAR Java House Grand Prix of Monterey - Source: Getty

In September this year, Cadillac F1 announced it had signed Colton Herta as a test driver for 2026, and team CEO Dan Towriss confirmed that the 25-year-old would take a step down from IndyCar to race in F2. Alex Palou had shared his honest reaction to the same.

Though the Chip Ganassi Racing driver was happy to see his IndyCar rival go all out to fulfil his F1 dream, he expressed disappointment with the FIA's Super Licence points system. Speaking about Herta's move on the Speed Street podcast, Alex Palou said:

"I think it's a great story. It's a great story that what he's trying to achieve, how hard we all know that it is. And that's why we push for it. And especially knowing that it's a little bit unfair that he could get a chance if we had more points in our system. Yes. And that's what it makes us be even more like… I hate that."

This year, Alex Palou was linked with two F1 teams, Cadillac F1 and Red Bull, for a 2026 drive. However, he dismissed the link on both accounts, emphasizing his commitment to racing in IndyCar.