02/27/26 02:31:00
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02/27 14:30 CST Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing end McLaren contract fight
after $12 million ruling
Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing end McLaren contract fight after $12 million
ruling
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) --- Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing have settled
the four-time IndyCar champion's breach of contract dispute with McLaren
Racing, and the Spanish driver acknowledged Friday he mishandled the situation.
Palou in January was ordered by London's High Court to pay McLaren more than
$12 million after a five-week trial in which McLaren proved he backed out of
two different deals with the racing team.
The team was initially seeking closer to $30 million and said after the ruling
it would still pursue legal fees from Palou.
"I'm happy to confirm that we have reached a final settlement with McLaren
Racing following a UK judge ruling in January," Ganassi said ahead of the first
practice of the IndyCar season.
"I cannot condone what happened and I'm glad 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."
A declaration filed during the trial showed Ganassi had agreed to bear "all
reasonable legal fees and expenses associated" with the dispute with McLaren
and to "defend and indemnify (the Defendants)" from any legal claims brought by
McLaren, including "all legal fees and expenses, and damages of any kind."
Palou announced in the summer of 2023 that he had signed a contract with
McLaren, but Ganassi said it held the contractual rights on Palou for 2024.
Mediation between the two teams led to the agreement Palou would drive for CGR
in 2024 while he was also a reserve driver for McLaren's Formula 1 team.
Palou was expected to move to McLaren's IndyCar team in 2025 but did an
about-face and decided to stay at Ganassi, where he has won three consecutive
championships and four of the last five.
Palou acknowledged in a statement that he followed poor management advice at
the time and said McLaren boss Zak Brown did nothing wrong. Palou had
previously maintained he was misled into thinking he had a chance at one of
McLaren's F1 seats and reversed his decision to leave Ganassi when McLaren
signed Oscar Piastri to its team.
"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," Palou 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 very much respect their organization."
McLaren has won the last two constructors' championships in F1 and Lando Norris
added the drivers' title last season. But, in IndyCar, Ganassi has had the
superior team and Palou did not want to leave for what he perceived as a lesser
ride in that series once he felt he had no opening into F1.
Brown thanked his legal team for the work it has done since Palou's attorneys
informed him in the middle of 2024 that Palou was staying with Ganassi. Palou
refused to personally speak to Brown --- on the advice of his management ---
and the unprofessionalism partly drove Brown to doggedly fight the breach of
contract.
"Pleased we can now return to battling things out on track," Brown said, "and
focus on what's set to be an exciting IndyCar season."
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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