The McLaren-Alex Palou $20M lawsuit: All major revelations so far

The much-anticipated trial between McLaren and 4x IndyCar champion Alex Palou began in September with the British company suing the driver for approximately $20 million in damages. This came after the Spaniard decided to stay at Chip Ganassi Racing in 2024 after having signed with McLaren earlier.

Here are all the major revelations that have come forward relating to the lawsuit till now.

Background of the McLaren-Alex Palou $20 million lawsuit

In 2022, McLaren had already secured the signature of Alex Palou for the 2023 IndyCar season when Chip Ganassi Racing announced that the reigning champion would continue driving for them next year. That led to a legal case in America, after which it was agreed among all parties that Palou would continue at CGR in 2023, before moving to the Papaya team in 2024.

Palou chose not to honor this agreement and stayed at CGR in 2024. McLaren Racing and McLaren Indy LLC then sued the driver for $20.7 million in the UK for losses and damages for breach of the contract.

Palou has already admitted that he breached the contract, but has claimed that he owes the company nothing as he was misled by CEO Zak Brown, especially with regard to his ambition of racing in F1.

Both Palou and Brown were at the London High Court for the first time on Friday, October 10, and fresh claims and revelations have been made by the parties.

All that was revealed during Alex Palou and Zak Brown's testimonies on Friday

2022 F1 Grand Prix of USA - Practice - Source: Getty

Testifying in London’s Commercial Court on Friday, Alex Palou claimed that McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown misled him into believing that he would get a move into the Woking-based company's F1 outfit. However, the team eventually ended up signing Oscar Piastri in 2023, closing down an opportunity for the Spaniard.

"Zak told me in various conversations we had in person, including during the time I was testing with McLaren at the track in September and October 2022, that he really loves IndyCar and wanted to get a driver from IndyCar to F1," said Palou, via Reuters. "Zak told me he believed we could make it happen and that he would give me all the preparation I needed to be an F1 driver for McLaren," he added,

Palou then also dropped a bombshell, claiming that Brown told him that it was not his decision to hire Oscar Piastri into their F1 outfit.

"Zak told me it was not his decision to hire Oscar. He said it was the decision of [then] team manager Andreas Seidl. Zak told me Piastri’s performance would be evaluated against mine for 2024. "Zak said that, from his point of view, my chance of getting the F1 seat was not affected by Oscar," he added.

The British racing outfit has denied that Palou was promised an F1 seat. Rather, they claim that he was promised a reserve role, with the possibility of a future seat in the category.

Zak Brown accused of "destroying evidence"

Palou's lawyers have also accused Brown of "destroying evidence," alleging that the 53-year-old instructed team staff to delete messages related to Palou’s failed move, and that he used the disappearing messages feature on WhatsApp to talk about the issue. The legal team has also seemingly submitted screenshots of Brown's chats as evidence of this claim.

Brown has also denied these allegations, claiming that using the disappearing messages feature on WhatsApp was "company policy."

Zak Brown at the Singapore GP - Source: Getty

Other than this, Palou also claimed that Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko had expressed interest in signing him to their sister Racing Bulls in 2023, but after a conversation with Brown, the Austrian withdrew his interest.

During the same questioning, it was also revealed that Brown actually offered Palou to the Williams F1 team as well.

Now, the lawsuit sits in London’s Commercial Court with both Palou and Brown having given their respective testimonies. The final decision now lies with the judge, with a verdict expected later this year.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam