IndyCar champion Alex Palou has told the High Court of his bitter emotions at the moment he realised was not going to become a McLaren F1 driver, despite being signed to its roster.
Palou and his associated management companies are being sued for $20.7m (£15.43m) by McLaren for reneging on his IndyCar contract with the Woking squad.
He says that he did so after seeing that he had little prospect of moving from IndyCar to McLaren’s grand prix team during the course of the contract, and disputes the level of damages.
In his witness statement, the Indianapolis 500 winner describes his reaction when Oscar Piastri put out a social media post announcing his joining McLaren in September 2022, meaning there was no vacant seat at the Formula 1 team.
“I was very upset, worried and angry that McLaren had signed another rookie driver other than me,” he said. Palou recounted contacting Monaco Increase Management (MIM), which was looking after his affairs, seeking more information from McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. “I asked MIM to speak to Zak to ask what was going on.
IndyCar star having his F1 turn at 2023 US GP FP1
McLaren
“On September 22 they had a conversation with Zak, and Zak had told them they needed someone who would be quick in 2023 […] but that this would not interfere with my chances to get into F1.”
Palou says he first entertained the idea of joining McLaren just as he was wrapping his debut IndyCar title, after discussions with advisor Daniele Audetto, but both sides contest who approached who first, each claiming it was the other.
“At the end of 2021, I understand based on conversations with Daniele and also emails with Zak he showed me, that McLaren approached him for information about whether I would drive for them in IndyCar,” Palou says.
“I instructed MIM to tell McLaren I would only be interested in driving for McLaren in F1. In Oct/Nov 2021, Daniele told me he had that conversation with Zak.
Brown has denied “stringing along” Palou
McLaren
“The only attraction was to go to F1. My ambition was because it is the biggest single-seater series in the world.”
What followed was a public wrangle between Palou’s then-team Chip Ganassi Racing (which he ultimately never left) and McLaren, with both claiming his IndyCar services for 2023.
Following mediation, Palou announced that he would remain for one more year at Ganassi in 2023, while performing testing and reserve duties for McLaren in F1, before switching to its IndyCar team in 2024.