With the interest of boosting their IndyCar operations, McLaren poached Chip Gannasi’s Alex Palou. The operation was so important to McLaren that Zak Brown even paid Palou’s legal fees for bringing him on board McLaren. However, the deal has since gone sideways, with Palou snubbing his new team to pursue his dream of becoming an F1 driver.
Alex Palou was set to become an Arrow McLaren driver in IndyCar from the start of the 2024 season and had already received an advance on his salary. However, the Spanish driver has since ‘betrayed’ McLaren in hopes of pursuing his F1 dreams.
There was a brief period in IndyCar when things around Chip Ganassi Racing and Palou were significantly twisted. The Spaniard announced he had signed with McLaren for the 2023 season just hours after Ganassi picked him as an option in their team. After Ganassi filed a suit against the driver, Palou took to Twitter to announce he had reached an agreement to continue being a part of the team and drive their no. 10 car.
Zak Brown reveals Alex Palou has no intentions of joining Arrow McLaren
As reported by APNews, Zak Brown sent a letter to his team’s IndyCar operations division informing them about Alex Palou’s decision against joining their team next season. Palou had given Brown multiple assurances of his association with the team before going back on his words. Per APNews:
“Brown’s letter to his team did not indicate what Palou plans to do in 2024, when he is already contractually bound to McLaren. Brown and Ganassi are bitter rivals — Brown even paid Palou’s legal fees in his fight to get out of the Ganassi deal — and Ganassi initially gloated Friday to The Associated Press over Palou’s change of mind.”
Palou has long held the dream of becoming a professional F1 driver. The Spaniard even did a test run with McLaren in an F1 car in 2021 and called it a “dream come true.” He has since tried his best to land a spot in the F1 roster but could not do so, given his IndyCar commitments.
Alex Palou to F1 could happen eventually
The IndyCar racer with Chip Ganassi also served as a reserve F1 driver with McLaren. The position stirred up rumors of him filling a potential open seat in the 2024 season. The Race reported AlphaTauri and Williams as other options for the Spaniard, with the former even holding talks with the 2021 IndyCar champion. Thus, there might be more credibility to Palou’s F1 potential than originally thought.
Palou’s driving skills cannot be questioned as he won the 2021 IndyCar championship and is on track to win a second title in three years. As such, he has become one of the most exciting driving talents and might be the latest entrant in an elite group of drivers.
