McLaren can’t seem to get out of contract dilemmas. This time it’s with Chip Ganassi racing for Alex Palou. While a lot of people think this is new, it actually started last year. However, all of the news was hogged by the Oscar Piastri saga with Alpine in F1. Things have got serious now as it has emerged that Zak Brown is suing the driver.
What happened?
Alex Palou has been racing for Chip Ganassi since 2021. He won his first IndyCar championship in the same season. While driving for them in 2022, he became a reserve driver for McLaren in F1. He even did a few practice sessions for them. In July last year, Chip Ganassi Racing announced they will be extending his contract by activating a clause.
This is when the controversy kicked into overdrive as McLaren and Alex Palou released a statement immediately. They refuted Chip Ganassi’s claims and said he will be joining the McLaren roster. It was unclear if he would just be an F1 reserve driver, or actually drive for McLaren’s outfit in IndyCar.
Chip Ganassi took him to court, and it was ruled that he would have to drive for them in 2023. He continued his association with McLaren in F1, hopeful of getting a chance sooner than later. Recently, he parted ways with both his management company and McLaren and said he will continue racing for Chip Ganassi. This has made Zak Brown sue the driver.
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Alex Palou hasn’t said much apart from announcing his decision. Monaco Increase Management, his management company, has blasted him in a media statement. They expressed disappointment in the driver not wanting to honour McLaren’s contract which they played a crucial role in.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown is unhappy with the driver’s lack of commitment. He said how the team invested heavily in the driver both monetarily and publicly. This is quite reminiscent of Otmar Szafnauer’s words last year for Oscar Piastri.
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Chip Ganassi, the owner of Chip Ganassi Racing, chose to speak up as well. He mentioned how McLaren has lost all his respect because of the current management. He pointed out it was McLaren’s interference that started this entire saga, and now they are acting like the victims. Chip believes Alex Palou’s contract stands valid.
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