Alex Palou Finds Himself in $23,000,000 Muck as Zak Brown & Co. Refuses to Back Down in Legal Battle

What goes around truly comes back around. Just last year we witnessed a legal drama unfold between McLaren and Alpine. Now, the Woking outfit is in the midst of legal drama once again. However, on this occasion, McLaren is the grieving party and is demanding a whopping $23 million in damages. The man on the wrong end of this deal is none other than F1 hopeful and two-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou.

The reigning Indy car champion Palou signed a contract with McLaren’s IndyCar team wing. However, soon after his extension, the Spanish driver had a change of heart. A change of heart for which McLaren now wants compensation. Let us explain!

The IndyCar champion was set to leave Chip Ganassi Racing a year early and join McLaren as an IndyCar and reserve F1 driver. However, Palou later told McLaren boss Zak Brown that he had no intention of honoring the agreement.

The disgruntled CEO also sent a company-wide public communication expressing his disappointment with Palou’s actions and detailed how their significant investment was going to waste. This is precisely why, on behalf of Arrow McLaren, Palou has a lawsuit on his hands.

The Spanish driver has put himself in a tricky situation by showcasing a willingness to not honor his McLaren contract, especially after signing with the Woking outfit and leaving his former team Chip Ganassi Racing a year early.

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All the scales tip in McLaren’s favor as the High Court of Justice Business and Property Courts of England and Wales Commercial cleared him of any obligation to his former team.

There is a lot of confusion regarding the whole scenario, but the Spanish driver has released a statement defending his actions.

Alex Palou explains his reasons for the last-minute McLaren U-turn

As a CEO, Zak Brown has always tried to give his IndyCar drivers a chance to compete in the premier class. He has often given opportunities to IndyCar drivers to test in F1 and even make them the team’s reserve drivers. However, his similar plans for Palou have come back to bite him.

However, to give you an objective outlook on the scenario, let us give you Palou’s side as well.

Palou explained his reason for ditching the F1 test first. “Yeah. First of all, it’s because I can’t, just because of the championship [win] and we’re going to LA now [for the end of season prizegiving next Sunday] and then we have some testing for the ’24 car [in IndyCar]. Yeah, the plan’s changed. I’m not going to go to any F1 races.”

Regarding his U-turn, he explained, “I agree, it’s sad. I’ve always tried to be a nice person, and I always thought I was doing the right things. That’s how my family taught me how to do stuff, and then suddenly, I look like I do everything wrong, that I don’t listen. And that I just do whatever I feel on that day.”

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We are not sure how this situation will turn out for the IndyCar champ, but it’s not looking good.