Zak Brown hits back at Alex Palou's claims in $30M IndyCar lawsuit after cutting short McLaren's F1 championship celebrations

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown was engaged in a tense back-and-forth with Alex Palou's lawyers in London in their ongoing $30M lawsuit against the IndyCar champ. The 51-year-old had to cut short his celebrations of McLaren's constructors' championship victory after the Singapore Grand Prix to fly to London earlier this week.

The final leg of McLaren's lawsuit against Palou for a breach of contract began in London last week, with lawyers from each side presenting their case. McLaren lawyers positioned Palou as a "serial contract breaker." However, the Spaniard's side claimed Zak Brown had lured the IndyCar star to the "second-class" Arrow McLaren team with a promise to promote him to F1, which is the only reason he broke his Chip Ganassi Racing contract in 2022 in the first place.

However, Brown refuted that claim in court this week. The McLaren Racing CEO 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."

Zak Brown at the F1 Singapore Grand Prix - Source: Getty

When Alex Palou's lawyer, Nick de Marco KC, told the court about how Brown's signing of Oscar Piastri to McLaren while "stringing along" Palou left the IndyCar driver "disillusioned" and hence, his decision to break the McLaren contract and stay with Chip Ganassi.

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

This is the point McLaren's legal team had put forth last week, accusing Palou of being lured by a big-money contract from CGR. However, the four-time IndyCar champion's side maintained the stance that he broke the McLaren contract only because Zak Brown didn't fulfil his F1 promise.

Alex Palou's lawyers use Pato O'Ward's IndyCar-F1 contract example to highlight Zak Brown's seemingly cunning negotiation tactics

Pato O'Ward with Zak Brown at the NTT INDYCAR Series Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto - Source: Getty

IndyCar's most popular driver and the runner-up finisher to Alex Palou in the 2025 championship, Pato O'Ward, has been driving for Arrow McLaren since 2020. In 2024, McLaren also signed the Mexican driver as the reserve driver for its F1 team, a role he has remained in since.

When Palou backed out of driving for Arrow McLaren, Zak Brown gave O'Ward a pay raise to avoid losing another top-tier talent. This information came out when the 26-year-old's contract became public as part of McLaren's lawsuit against Palou.

Palou's lawyer highlighted a clause in O'Ward's contract in court, which promised the Mexican driver a pay raise should he be promoted to F1.

"He was being incentivized by you (Brown) to sign a contract on the basis he would be moved to F1 and paid a lot more. This technique is very effective, encouraging them and then shafting them," Nick de Marco KC said.

Brown was quick to deny that claim, replying:

"I totally disagree. Pato is a driver we think has F1 potential. We created an agreement that gave us flexibility - You would be paid a lot more in F1."

As per Motorsport Magazine, Zak Brown was also asked about McLaren's internal communication regarding makers of the F1 2022 video game asking for Pato O'Ward's likeness to be included in the game. One con that McLaren's team highlighted was that such a move would "further inflate Pato's ego" and make him believe that "F1 is a sure thing."

Zak Brown addressed that, saying:

"Some racing drivers and team bosses have egos. I never said Pato would be a sure thing in F1, and we do not want to mislead."

McLaren's lawsuit against Alex Palou began with the Woking-based team claiming that it lost approximately $30 million in sponsorship money, additional driver salaries, and other costs when the Spaniard breached his contract to stay with Chip Ganassi Racing.