Alex Palou has called on his Chip Ganassi team to take a step forward after the team struggled to match Penske’s pace in the opening two races of the championship.

The start of the season has been dominant for Team Penske with Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden claiming the first two races of the season while   
Chip Gnassi's Alex Palou’s title defense got off to a winless start with a second-place finish in the season’s curtain-raiser at St. Petersburg. 

But in spite of having to play second peddle to the Penske drivers, Palou, when speaking in a media session that Motorlat attended, the Spaniard expressed his satisfaction with his start of the season. However, Palou called on his team to move forward for the upcoming races which include next month’s Indy 500 a race that he finished second in last year after just failing to catch eventual race winner Helio Castroneves at the finish line.

"I think we’re really happy so far. I think last year at St. Pete; we got 16th place or something like that. We got second place this year. In Texas, we got a fourth and a seventh. We’re still good. We’re running third in a championship without having a really good weekend. We just started, but I feel like we’ve been struggling (since) the start of the season."

"We still got the results we wanted, but I think it’s time to try and move forward and trying to find points. It’s so competitive right now that if you don’t have everything together mentally, physically, the car and all the team is perfect, you cannot fight for wins. But, yeah, we struggle. I think everybody saw that it’s not like we show up, and we are running super fast since the beginning of the weekend. We struggle, but we still end up with a good result."

Last year’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach was a weekend of triumph for Palou, as he secured his first series championship title in his sophomore year of IndyCar. 

Just under a year from his finest hour in racing, Palou expressed his excitement at returning to Long Beach, where he hopes to win his first IndyCar race held on a street circuit.

"I’m super excited for Long Beach. Obviously, it’s super special for me. It was the first time last year, but getting the championship here was just amazing. Everything I did before in preparation and the days I spent after it with the media tour and all that stuff, so super excited."

"The best memory was winning, obviously. When we were in victory -- well, it’s not victory lane, but when we had all the team there celebrating with the trophy, it felt really special. We had a good start to the season so far. (I) I can’t wait to try and get the first win of the season."