INDIANAPOLIS — Here we go again. Alex Palou is in the midst of an entangled web of litigation that could possibly land the Spaniard back in courts when regarding his racing future. This time, it’s a complete flip-flop of what transpired 13 months ago.
During the summer of 2022, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that they had exercised an option to keep Palou under contract for the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Shortly after, Palou tried to dispute that claim from his current team and instead said he had signed a deal to join Arrow McLaren Racing instead.
It sent shockwaves through the paddock. What was happening? Ganassi maintained that he had a contract and Palou wasn’t going anywhere. Zak Brown of McLaren said the same thing and was welcoming Palou onboard.
It led to Palou being sued by his team that he was driving for which left a disgruntled driver. During this drama, he struggled on track. While the news didn’t drop until early July between the Mid-Ohio and Toronto race weekends, sources told me that Ganassi got word leading into the Month of May that Palou was disgruntled and was talking with McLaren.
Prior to Ganassi finding out, Palou had finished 2nd, 7th, 3rd, 2nd. After? 3 podiums in 12 races. Ganassi and Honda felt jaded and cut information off for Palou because they didn’t want to risk him taking it over to McLaren and Chevrolet. Between that and Palou and Ganassi not exactly simpatico, it affected his results.
The thing is, Ganassi still knew that he had a strong case and maintained that while access was cut off, he directed the 10 team to still deliver Palou a car capable of winning. That’s why even with that access cut short, he still had 8 top 10 finishes.
Ganassi likes winners and saw even in this midst of this legal drama, Palou can still deliver. Imagine what he can do with full access again.
Which leads me to where we are today and my thoughts.
McLaren’s Contract Language Hurt Them
They announced in late June that Felix Rosenqvist had signed a deal with them but all signs were him going to Formula E. Little did we know then that Palou was going to be his replacement. A few weeks later, that move became clear.
The thing is, McLaren had to know that this was going to end up in courts. With Rosenqvist having an option that he could find work elsewhere by a certain date and Ganassi delaying the legal process until after the season, it left Zak Brown in a tight box. He could very well risk losing not only Palou, but Rosenqvist too.
So, the case was dropped. Palou would come back to Ganassi, Rosenqvist would remain with McLaren and all parties happy for the time being.
At that point though, it was clear that Palou’s likely destination would be McLaren in 2024. He just had to get through the 2023 season. McLaren offered an F1 test and it became more and more clear on what his outlook was – Formula One.
Palou wasn’t coming to McLaren to run in Indy Car. He was coming to run in F1. The thing is, they also signed Oscar Piastri in a similar circumstance from Alpine to what Palou was to Ganassi. This deal, they had an open door and knew they had a legitimate contract. Palou was muddier.
With Piastri pairing with Lando Norris, Palou’s seat for 2024 in F1 wasn’t as clear as it once was.
McLaren F1’s Success Also Causing This
Early in the season, the McLaren F1 team was struggling. There were even rumors of Lando Norris leaving. That could have opened up a path for Palou after all. Then, they got it figured out and found speed. They look like the best midfield team now and have drastically closed the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari too.
With two drivers in their early 20’s, why would they leave now? Which as a result, costs Palou a future in F1 with McLaren because he’s already 26 and doesn’t have time to wait.
Enter 2023 Success For Palou
Once Palou’s access was turned back on, he’s been among the best drivers in the world. He won the season finale at Laguna Seca by nearly a half-a-minute. He led 67 of 95 laps that day. This season, he’s finished in the top eight in literally every single race.
With an 84-point lead and a chance to end the nearly two-decade streak of the Indy Car championship being decided in the final race likely coming to an end, the Spaniard’s domination has led him to other potential F1 opportunities.
Alpha Tauri cut ties with Nyck de Vries. Williams was a potential landing spot too. If he found a seat before August, he could leave McLaren’s deal. If it was after, which is now is, he would have to be out on loan.
Which could now come to a wild turn of events.
Honda could come in and say since they have F1 ties, they agreed before the contract date with McLaren that they have something with Palou granting an out for him from that McLaren deal. Plus, it’s not exactly a secret that Honda isn’t fond of McLaren anyways.
What a better way to stick it back to them than this. They can keep Palou in INDYCAR and say they have him on an F1 deal to eventually move over one day and it gets him out of this web.
It’s questionable on how McLaren says they have a deal for 2024 with Palou when technically Palou couldn’t sign a 2024 deal until not sooner than Sept. 1 anyways. Brown maintains that they not only have a deal but that he’s given him an advancement on that deal too.
However, if Palou and Ganassi and Honda have something in the works, they could make Brown look silly here.
McLaren May Walk From Palou
To further that last point, what gain does Zak Brown have to court this further? While he may want his money back, does he really want a disgruntled driver here? He has no way to move him to F1 and do you really want to put Palou in Rosenqvist’s seat now? How can he trust him with the path that’s transpired over the last 13 months?
While he has egg on his face and could potentially lose millions on Palou alone by paying the court fees last year and now giving him advancement from a 2024 contract as well as his F1 testing deal this year, it may be best to just walk away before it gets even uglier and has more cost involved.
This Could Help O’Ward Again
Pato O’Ward made no secret that he was with McLaren because he wanted to be an F1 driver too. It grew to a head last spring with O’Ward livid. It cost him results. Then he realized to not let if affect him and he went out and turned his season around. As a result, McLaren offered a new contract with F1 tests. Then came this Palou saga. That was O’Ward opportunity swept out from under him. Now, the door is back open again for him.
McLaren has invested a lot in O’Ward too and he’s young enough to start contending for championships here and win an Indy 500 and get a chance to move over to F1 and not be blocked by this Palou saga any further.
Palou Chance to Be A Legend Here
All of this means that Palou is in the right spot. Why leave to go anywhere else when you’ve won 8 times with Ganassi in only 46 starts. In fact, 27 of his 46 starts have landed him in the top five and with what he’s doing this season and even in his championship winning one of 2021, why leave? Where’s he going to go to do any better?
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