Alex Palou drags Fernando Alonso's Indy 500 failure in court hearing over McLaren lawsuit

Alex Palou dragged Fernando Alonso's Indy 500 failure with Arrow McLaren during the court hearing of McLaren's $20 million lawsuit against him. One of the claims in the lawsuit was that McLaren lost approximately $1 million in potential performance-related bonuses that they would've earned if Palou, already an IndyCar champion back in 2022, hadn't breached his contract in 2023 and joined the team.

However, the four-time IndyCar champion argued in the London courts this week that no driver, however impressive their resume, can turn around a team's performance so quickly. The Spaniard used the example of his compatriot Fernando Alonso's two failed Indy 500 outings with Arrow McLaren to make his point.

"Fernando Alonso is a two-time F1 champion and probably one of the best drivers in the recent era. In fact, many people would say the best. In 2019, Fernando tried to qualify for the Indy 500 with McLaren. However, he failed to qualify against a driver who was a rookie and had no previous experience in Indy 500 (Kyle Kaiser)," Palou said via The Race. "In 2017, Fernando qualified for the Indy 500 with another team (Andretti Autosport) and almost won until the car broke. In 2020, Fernando finished 21st for the Indy 500 with McLaren," he added.

Fernando Alonso in the pits during the 103rd Indianapolis 500 Qualifications - Source: Getty

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver further explained how Arrow McLaren has had "really good drivers," but not as good results to show. So, his joining the Zak Brown-led team wouldn't have made as big a difference over the first few years as the team claimed about losing out on.

"Maybe a driver can in one race do something a little more aggressive, but I do not consider that a driver can during the course of a full year or four or five years have too much impact. This has been seen with many other drivers, such as Fernando Alonso," Palou concluded.

Alex Palou's lawyers had termed Arrow McLaren a "second-class team" in their opening arguments in this $20 million lawsuit. They did so to highlight that the Spaniard breached his contract because he had only agreed to join the McLaren family when Zak Brown promised him an F1 seat. However, the seat was handed to Oscar Piastri, who still has it pinned down.

Fernando Alonso's message to Alex Palou on his victory at the 2025 Indy 500

Alex Palou poses with the Borg-Warner Trophy after winning the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

While Fernando Alonso could not conquer the Indy 500 in his three attempts, with a P21 result as his best, the two-time F1 champion was overjoyed when his compatriot Alex Palou won it earlier this year. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver qualified sixth for the race and took the lead with 14 laps to go in the 200-lap race with a decisive move on Marcus Ericsson.

The Andretti Global driver couldn't retake the lead, handing Palou his first victory at the Greatest Spectacle of Racing. Alonso saluted the 28-year-old's achievement with a message of respect later that week.

"Great for Spain, and it's great for him to have the Indy 500 now after winning the series. He's doing great there. I know that most of the drivers would dream about Formula 1 and having a career here, but he had the opportunity in IndyCar, and he maximized every single day there," the Aston Martin F1 driver said ESPN. "He's a legend in IndyCar and he will be a legend always in IndyCar, so I think he's not missing Formula 1 and I'm very happy for him because he's a very, very talented driver. We are just following him from here with a lot of respect as a fan," he added.

Palou won the 2025 IndyCar championship with a dominant season consisting of eight race wins and five more podiums in 17 races. He will enter the 2026 season in pursuit of a fourth consecutive and fifth overall IndyCar title. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso is in the middle of a terrible season for Aston Martin and is 11th in the drivers' standings with six races to go.

Edited by Yash Kotak