Alex Palou's father breaks silence on "tense" McLaren contract battle amid active $30M lawsuit

Alex Palou's father, Ramon, has revealed that the tense environment that prevailed in the young IndyCar racer's camp when he had to decide whether to ditch his contract with McLaren. The 28-year-old has a $30 million lawsuit going on with McLaren for not racing for the team, despite having a valid contract with the outfit for the 2024 season.

Palou immediately left a mark on the racing scene when he joined the IndyCar sphere. He used to race for the smallest team on the grid, Dale Coyne Racing, in his debut year. But his stellar performances were able to land him a seat at Chip Ganassi Racing.

This move essentially paid off as he won his maiden title with CGR in his sophomore year in the sport. Subsequently, he was signed by McLaren for the 2023 season, but his current employer had exercised its right to retain the Spaniard for the 2023 season.

This led all the parties to arrive at a settlement that Palou would join McLaren in 2024. However, seeing that an F1 seat may be long gone owing to Lando Norris being on a long-term contract and Oscar Piastri joining the team, the Spaniard backed off and decided to stay at CGR yet again.

Arriving at this decision was not an easy task. The stressful environment that encapsulated those days was borne by everyone in the Spaniard's camp, including his father Ramon. Reflecting on how the situation unraveled in front of him, he told Mundo Deportivo:

"Obviously, I was aware of everything that was happening at all times, and those were tense days in the sense that Alex had to make decisions based on events. That was the level of tension. Once Alex was very clear about his decision and what he wanted to do in the future, from there, it was simply a matter of getting the necessary legal advice to carry it out. And so it was."

Meanwhile, the legal battle between Alex Palou and McLaren is still ongoing in the U.K. commercial court.

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Zak Brown is adamant that he had not lured Alex Palou to McLaren with the temptation of an F1 seat

Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou at the 2025 NTT INDYCAR Series BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland - Source: Getty

Alex Palou had signed with McLaren due to a chance to move to F1. However, when it seemingly closed in front of him as the papaya squad had two drivers on long-term contracts, he decided to say cayonara to his contract with the British team.

Palou had talked about how the F1 seat at McLaren had been the prime reason for his decision to ditch CGR. But Brown claimed in the courtroom that he had never promised a drive in F1 and had just discussed the potential of it, as he said (via Motorsport Magazine):

"I never strung along Alex. I told him what the opportunities would be in F1. I never told him he would be under consideration for 2023. There was some optionality to join F1."

"He never communicated that to me once. Never once did he ever communicate any concern. I believe he was seduced (into re-signing) by his current racing team."

On the other hand, Alex Palou's decision to stay with CGR has worked in his favor. He has won three more IndyCar titles since his initial fallout with McLaren, and is slated to stay with the Indianapolis-based squad.