OpenAI has collaborated with Chip Ganassi Racing to optimise the setup of Álex Palou's single-seater during the 2026 IndyCar season, in which the Spanish driver achieved 6 wins and 8 poles.
OpenAI has worked alongside Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) to optimise the setup of Álex Palou, the 2026 IndyCar champion, according to ecosistemastartup.com. The collaboration has been documented in a YouTube series and coincided with a season in which the Spanish driver secured 6 wins and 8 poles, double the number of races won by any other driver in the championship.
The Chip Ganassi Racing team now has 18 titles in the series, and Palou has accumulated 5 championships in 6 years. The alliance with OpenAI has not been limited to sponsorship: a researcher from the company has worked with CGR engineers to evaluate thousands of setup combinations in simulation before the car hits the track.
In an IndyCar single-seater, the setup (suspension, height, aerodynamics, and geometry) is adjusted at each circuit, and every decision involves a trade-off between grip, tyre wear, and fuel consumption. The ability of an AI model to process thousands of combinations in simulation reduces the time that a human engineer would take weeks to cover.
The AI did not replace Palou's engineering team. What it did was provide them with a new tool to explore the setup space faster than the competition.
The second episode of the documentary shows the workflow, although CGR has not published algorithmic details. The pattern is consistent with what other teams already apply in F1 and NASCAR: Bayesian search, Monte Carlo simulations, and tyre degradation prediction models fed with historical telemetry.
Palou's teammate, Cristiano de Holgado, became the second driver with the most wins in 2026, with 2 races won and a third place in the championship, according to Yahoo Sports. By sharing the pit and telemetry with Palou, he accesses the same stream of optimised data.
Sponsorship in motorsport has shifted from tobacco and alcohol to crypto, cybersecurity, and AI, sectors seeking visibility associated with innovation. At a Petit Le Mans, co-founders of GitHub, Crowdstrike, and Shopify, along with the creator of Ruby on Rails, competed as amateur drivers.
The 2026 IndyCar season has already concluded, so the results of the collaboration between OpenAI and CGR are final: 6 wins and 8 poles for Palou, and the championship title.
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