F1 News
Palou has made his decision: Will he go to GP Singapore or not?
- Ludo van Denderen
With a third-place finish, Alex Palou concluded his season in IndyCar on Sunday. According to his contract, the new champion should now travel to Singapore, where he is supposed to be the reserve driver for McLaren's F1 team. But due to a dispute - soon to be fought out in a London court - it has been unclear in recent days whether Palou will fulfil his obligations? He has since given the answer to that question.
It was announced late last year that Palou - after a long legal battle over which IndyCar team he was actually under contract to - would be McLaren's test and reserve driver in Formula 1 in 2023. Moreover, McLaren was under the impression that the Spaniard would take a seat in one of the British team's IndyCar cockpits from 2024. However, Palou let it be known recently that he would abandon that switch.
Hotel room booked for Palou
Since then, the question was whether he would fulfil his role as test and reserve driver for McLaren F1 now that the IndyCar season is over. CEO Zak Brown revealed last weekend that his contract required Palou to travel to Asia and that McLaren has even booked a hotel room for him. But Brown honestly admitted he did not expect Palou to come to the Grand Prix despite his contract.
After the race at Laguna Seca Sunday, Palou was asked the question: Are you going to Singapore or not? The answer was unsurprising: "Yeah, the plan’s changed. I’m not going to go to any F1 races," The Race heard from the Spaniard, who wants to race for Ganassi Racing in IndyCar next season.
Incidentally, Palou stated that it is simply impossible to travel to Singapore because, as champion, he has to be at the IndyCar gala in Los Angeles next weekend. Moreover, Palou would have tests with Ganassi scheduled after that.