Palou makes radical U-turn and is on collision course with McLaren
General
It has become clear that Alex Palou is on a collision course with McLaren. The 26-year-old Spaniard verbally signed a 2024 IndyCar contract with the British formation, but he has no intention of actually sticking to that commitment. Palou made this known to CEO Zak Brown, who subsequently informed all Arrow McLaren Racing staff of the emerging situation via a letter.
After the 2022 season, Palou had planned to leave Chip Ganassi Racing and drive for McLaren. Still, Chip Ganassi unilaterally lifted an option in Palou's contract, which made it seem that he would have to stay longer anyway. At the time, however, McLaren had already announced that Palou would drive for them in 2023. Both teams claimed to have a legally valid contract, forcing the courts to investigate the matter.
In the end, the two formations reached an agreement. Palou will race for Chip Ganassi in 2023 but will be allowed to complete F1 tests for McLaren in addition to his IndyCar commitments. So Brown and consorts have invested a lot of time and money in Palou this year, but they now come home cold after Palou's announcement.
McLaren very disappointed
"This is incredibly disappointing considering the commitment he has made to us both directly and publicly and our significant investment in him based on that commitment. We dedicated a lot of time, money and resources preparing to welcome Alex into our team because we believed in him and were looking forward to IndyCar wins with him. Coming out of his team dispute last fall, we were assured by Alex of his commitment to Arrow McLaren reflected in the contract he entered into with us," writes Brown, who even states that the legal costs Palou incurred last year were paid by McLaren.
Several times this year, Palou has said he will race for McLaren next year, but those promises appear to be worth nothing. "We have paid him a significant first payment toward his 2024 season in addition to the millions of dollars toward developing him in our Formula 1 testing program and in his reserve driver role with a potential drive in F1 in the future. Unfortunately, it now appears our belief, commitment, investment and trust in Alex was misplaced as it is not being reciprocated," Brown said in the letter owned by the Associated Press.