Detroit Grand Prix: 5 narratives to watch during 2025 race downtown

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The 2025 Detroit Grand Prix will be the third edition of the IndyCar race since it moved from Belle Isle to downtown Detroit in 2023. And along with the noise and celebrations it will bring to the city comes the excitement of the IndyCar season, already underway and approaching the halfway point.
The 2025 race features many top drivers looking to jockey for position, all chasing one driver having a historic season.
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Here are five narratives to look out for ahead of the race Sunday, June 1:
Will Álex Palou continue his unprecedented start?
Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou (10) experiences a moment of joy after winning the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon May 25, 2025, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Spanish driver Álex Palou has already won three out of the past four IndyCar individual championships, and the start of his 2025 season has him on a historic streak.
Palou has won five of the first six races of the IndyCar season, including his first Indianapolis 500 win on Sunday, May 25. He also won the 2023 edition of the Detroit Grand Prix, the first on the streets of downtown Detroit in decades.
But no matter how much hardware he accumulates, Palou's thoughts about the Detroit Grand Prix mirror many of his competitors: It's a very difficult course to race.
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"It's like, really short and really narrow," he said. "So for us to be on the limit and not end up in the wall, it just makes it very, very challenging."
Legendary IndyCar driver Scott Dixon, Palou's teammate at Chip Ganassi Racing, won the 2024 edition and hopes his team can make it a three-peat in Detroit.
"We're obviously trying to get that momentum rolling here in Detroit. Obviously, I'd prefer to win over Álex," he said while grinning.
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How will Team Penske rebound from Indy 500 controversy?
Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden gets out of his car after his car troubles in pit lane Sunday, May 25, 2025, during the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Arguably the biggest story out of last week's Indy 500 came from Team Penske, which had two drivers — previous Detroit IndyCar winners Josef Newgarden and Will Power — fail to pass inspection during Day 2 of qualifying.
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As a result, Penske let go of some senior leadership, with team owner Roger Penske saying: "Nothing is more important than the integrity of our sport and our race teams."
"We're just focused on the new weekend here trying to put our best foot forward," Newgarden said.
Will rain put a damper on 2025 Detroit Grand Prix?
Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon records a social media video after winning the NTT IndyCar Series of Detroit Grand Prix in downtown Detroit on Sunday, June 2, 2024.
Rain played a big role last year, with a slick course leading to a crash on the opening lap.
The weather forecast for Sunday predicts clear skies and no precipitation, but driver Santino Ferrucci would welcome the rain if it makes a surprise appearance.
"The rain's always fun. It changes it up, makes it more entertaining," he said.
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A bigger concern for Ferrucci, however, is the concrete located on some parts of the street course.
"Concrete for our cars is like ice compared to asphalt," he said.
Can a Detroit-born driver have a good showing?
Indy NXT racer Nolan Allaer holds a customized Detroit Lions racing helmet inside the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit before the start of the Detroit Grand Prix on Thursday, May 30, 2024.
He won't be racing in the big race Sunday, but Detroit-born Indy NXT driver Nolan Allaer is bringing his Lions helmet back home during the Indy NXT race on Sunday.
"Obviously, this is the one that I would go to sleep thinking about, and this is the one you would want to do well at," he said.
Allaer, who entered Grand Prix weekend 20th out of 25 drivers in the Indy NXT standings, calls the Detroit course the hardest course he has ever raced at.
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"I've definitely prepared a lot for this one, but it's hard. It's very difficult to do, to get it right, but it makes it rewarding if you do."
How will the drivers adapt to the course?
A running theme for the drivers heading into the race is how big a challenge the course presents, especially after racing on the fast oval track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"It's a really difficult track," said Sting Ray Robb, who drives for Juncos Hollinger Racing. "And I think that coming off the month of May, where we're going from our fastest course now to literally our slowest and bumpiest course, it seems like this challenge is very, very unique in the sense that we're contrasting some of the last race."
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Marcus Armstrong, who drives for Meyer Shank Racing, is anticipating a lot of caution laps.
"History says it's going to be a lot of yellow flags," he said. "So that's kind of interesting for the fans, probably the spectators, and for the drivers who want to stay out of trouble."
Andretti Global driver Colton Herta acknowledged the challenge, but also sees the fun in racing on such a difficult track.
"It's a track that races pretty well for a street (course), and it definitely provides a lot of action," he said. "I think just with how long the back straight is, it promotes a lot of racing. So I think that's, like, a positive aspect of it."
You can reach Christian at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Grand Prix race: 5 narratives to follow for 2025