McLaren has reached a final settlement with Chip Ganassi Racing after the London High Court ruled against Alex Palou and CGR during the long-running dispute.
In January, the four-time IndyCar champion was ordered to give McLaren more than $12million in compensation, following a five-week trial that occurred last year.
It came after McLaren sued Palou – initially for approximately $20m – for a breach of contract as both the British marque and CGR had announced competing claims over the Spaniard’s services for the 2023 IndyCar campaign.
The parties eventually reached an agreement that allowed Palou to stay at CGR, while serving as a test driver for the McLaren Formula 1 team before moving to its IndyCar operation in 2024.
But the 28-year-old then opted to stay where he was, claiming he’d lost faith in McLaren’s ability to give him an F1 drive; McLaren responded with the lawsuit to reclaim the money its IndyCar squad allegedly lost in sponsorship, driver salaries and performance earnings.
The situation has now come to an end and, on Friday, McLaren CEO Zak Brown said: “I’m very pleased that we have reached a final settlement with Chip Ganassi Racing after a UK judge ruled in our favour in January.
Zak Brown, McLaren
Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images
“I want to thank the team working directly on the case for so many months, and everyone who supported us throughout the process.
“Pleased we can now return to battling things out on track and focus on what’s set to be an exciting IndyCar season.”
During the court case, Palou alleged that Brown had given him hope of an F1 drive in 2024 and that Oscar Piastri’s arrival in 2023 as Lando Norris’ McLaren team-mate would not affect his chances.
The Spaniard claimed that “Zak told me it was not his decision to hire Oscar” and that Piastri’s “performance would be evaluated against mine for 2024” – something that Brown denied.
The McLaren boss said “I never told him he would be under consideration” and that “both allegations are clearly ludicrous” with Piastri supposedly laughing at Palou’s comments.
Palou has since corrected what he said, accepting the decision of the court and on Friday revealing that McLaren served out all of its commitments.
Alex Palou
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
“I found myself pulled in various directions and had the wrong people around me back then, who I believe did not have my best interests at heart,” he said.
“I believe back then that I was provided with the wrong advice, or no advice at all. In hindsight, had I reached out to Zak directly, perhaps things may have played out differently.
“McLaren and Zak supported me in many ways, they fulfilled every obligation, went above and beyond and delivered on everything they said in their contracts.
“I was never misled by McLaren and I very much respect their organisation. I also want to thank Chip, my team-mates, and everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing for their dedication and support throughout this process.
“I’ve learned a great deal from this experience. I’m delighted this matter has now settled and I wish to thank all of those involved in reaching an amicable conclusion.
“My focus now is fully on moving ahead where two great organisations that I respect deeply will compete solely on the race track.”
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
Photo by: Penske Entertainment
Palou claimed that it’s been an “incredibly challenging period” where he put both parties “in a difficult position” and this is something that he deeply regrets.
CGR owner Chip Ganassi said: “I cannot condone what happened and I’m glad that the matter is over. With the benefit of hindsight, I hope Alex has learned it’s important to keep good people around him, which he now does, so the events of 2023 are never repeated.
“I want to thank Zak and McLaren Racing for now giving us a chance to leave this matter behind us and fully focus on the exciting IndyCar season ahead.”
Palou will kickstart his hunt for a fifth IndyCar title at this weekend’s St Petersburg opener.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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