"It's a shame": IndyCar veteran weighs in on Alex Palou and McLaren's 'messy' lawsuit

Four-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou has been visiting the UK during the 2025 IndyCar off-season for the court dates of his lawsuit against McLaren. IndyCar veteran Conor Daly recently came out and shared his take on the lawsuit as the proceedings from the case came to light.

Alex Palou signed a contract with Arrow McLaren to join the IndyCar team for the 2023 season and fulfill the role of McLaren's F1 team’s reserve driver. After a negotiation with CGR, it was decided that Palou would join in 2024. However, by then, the Woking-based team had already signed Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on long-term contracts, resulting in the Spaniard’s decision not to honor the Arrow McLaren contract.

The team filed a lawsuit against Palou for the losses caused by his decision not to join the team. As the 2025 IndyCar season came to an end, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver went to the UK for the court dates of the McLaren lawsuit. Details from the same have been reported on the internet, with fans having varying opinions about it.

IndyCar driver Conor Daly featured on the latest episode of the Speed Street podcast and discussed how the proceedings have come to light. He expressed how most of the other big-time sports have a union, or a committee for the driver, including F1, who have GPDA, but that's not the case with IndyCar.

Speaking about the Alex Palou-McLaren contract and the, Daly said,

“At the end of the day, when we go out there as drivers, like we are the ones who are risking the most by doing what we love to do and try and deliver for our teams. But again, I don't think that's ever going to happen. But I think sometimes there's some thoughts that like, hey, this is it's a shame to see litigation have to break out. You mean like we don't, it's a shame to see that. And I hate it for both parties.” “Alex Palou is one of my great friends, but it's just messy, messy. And honestly, if you want to be entertained because you need IndyCar stuff, just get in there,” added Daly

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The Oscar Piastri factory behind Alex Palou's decision not to honor the Arrow McLaren contract

With Daniel Ricciardo leaving McLaren, the Woking-based team signed rookie Oscar Piastri. Alex Palou came out and detailed how he was upset with the team signing the Australian instead of him, and suggested that was one of the factors why he decided to continue with CGR.

“I was very upset, worried, and angry that McLaren had signed another rookie driver other than me. The only attraction was to go to F1. My ambition was because it is the biggest single-seater series in the world.” “I had to take a decision to get out of a contract with someone who had never lied to me [Ganassi] or someone who had done the opposite [McLaren],” added P

The lawsuit is still ongoing, with Palou recently revealing how the lawsuit has been costing him in the form of a lower salary with CGR.

Edited by Pranay Bhagi