Palou was seventh with 28 laps to go in the 100-lap race when Malukas rear-ended the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing car.
The Spaniard suffered suspension damage and failed to finish. In the end, he was classified 25th in the 27-car field.
Malukas was penalised for the clash. A drive-through penalty meant he wound up 14th in the #4 AJ Foyt Racing entry.
“For sure, somebody hit me behind. Very unfortunate,” said Palou, speaking with Fox Sports.
“We did an amazing recovery this weekend. Didn’t have much pace at the beginning and I thought we were running good to sneak onto the podium at the end.
“Doesn’t feel great but nothing we could have done there I think.”
No intention here. I f****d up. Locked my fronts. Sorry to @AlexPalou and the #10 crew. https://t.co/L7J3yLwxhK
— David Malukas (@malukasdavid) June 1, 2025
Malukas told Fox Sports he was battling to get his tyres and brakes up to temperature, which was most noticeable on the race restarts.
“I just ran out of talent,” said Malukas, who finished second in the Indianapolis 500 a week ago.
“I feel so bad. I tried to slow it down and just locked up both front brakes.
“We were struggling so hard compared to other people just to get tyre temp, to get brake temp and the corner before I almost hit him. I braked early there and still just locked up the fronts.
“We were struggling. It takes us two to three laps to get going and finally get there. Once it comes in, we’re fast. I just really messed that up so bad.
“I feel so bad. I’m going to try and find him. I don’t know if he’s already left or checked out. I need to find him, if not, I’ll try to give him a phone call.”
Despite the crash, Palou has maintained a massive lead in the points. He has a 112-point advantage over McLaren’s Pato O’Ward.
“I feel awful. Obviously he’s got a good lead still but man, he was on a good race, we were on a good race, yeah, I feel really bad,” Malukas added.
“I’m 23, three-and-a-half seasons in IndyCar. I shouldn’t be doing things like that. Those are more rookie mistakes.
“Every lap, every restart, we expected it to be like that. It just caught me off guard. I can’t let that happen.”
IndyCar takes a two-week break before returning on June 16 at Gateway for the second oval race of the season.
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