MCLAREN chief Zak Brown DID NOT want to sign Oscar Piastri, according to a stunning claim made by four-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou.
Palou, 28, made the claim while giving evidence in the UK High Court amid an ongoing legal battle with McLaren Racing as they seek £15.4million in damages over an alleged breach of contract and loss of revenue.
GettyOscar Piastri signing for McLaren was not a decision made by CEO Zak Brown, according to Alex Palou[/caption]
Shutterstock EditorialBrown gave evidence in a High Court lawsuit as McLaren seek £15m in damages against Palou[/caption]
The origin of the case dates back to 2022 when then rising IndyCar star Palou signed a contract with McLaren which would see him join the team from Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) with a view to eventually move into Formula One.
However, Palou, who was serving as the team’s reserve driver in 2023, reneged on his contract and stayed with CGR following the announcement of Piastri joining McLaren because he believed he had little prospect of moving to their F1 outfit.
As quoted by Motor Sport Magazine, Palou said in his witness statement: “I was very upset, worried and angry that McLaren had signed another rookie driver other than me.”
Palou claimed he was told by McLaren CEO Brown in 2022 that a deal for Piastri “would not interfere” with his own F1 prospects, with Palou adding “the only attraction was to go to F1” when signing for McLaren.
He further claimed he was told by Brown in October 2022 that it “was not his decision” to sign Piastri, with the move instead being made by team principal Andreas Seidl.
Palou, who added he had spoke to Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko about joining AlphaTauri, said: “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.
“However, I knew everything had changed. From that point on, I started to be more willing to stay with CGR in the future.”
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McLaren have been accused of bias between their drivers – Piastri and Briton Lando Norris – this season amid the pairs narrow F1 title fight, with a furious Piastri appearing to cut off Brown mid-sentence on the team radio after the Singapore Grand Prix.
Brown, 53, strongly denies any suggestion he “strung along” Palou, clarifying he never said he would be “under consideration” for an F1 seat.
Furthermore, Brown claims Palou’s position in 2023 was laid out as a “Plan B” or “Plan C” option if Piastri failed to deliver.
The American further asserted Palou’s presence was a condition for a deal with NTT Data, which the Papaya team then lost as a result of the driver backing out.
Brown said Palou “effectively rolled a grenade into the room and let it go off, leaving me to deal with the consequences with our sponsors”.
However, the veracity of Brown’s testimony was questioned by Palou’s representative, Nick De Marco KC, as he accused McLaren of destroying evidence that could be critical in the case – an accusation the team strongly deny.
WhatsApp messages were shown in the court of former McLaren IndyCar team manager Gavin Ward telling a contact how its members needed to use a seven-day disappearing message function to “cover their ass on lawsuits”.
An additional message from August 2023 – just before Palou opted to remain with CGR – of Brown telling recipients to use WhatsApp and delete chats was displayed.
Brown explained the function was simply company policy and declared he was “compliant in preserving documents associated with this case”.
McLaren’s claims for damages include a $400,000 signing bonus, the loss of sponsorship revenue and the need to promote Pato O’Ward to its F1 test programme.
Palou and his associated management dispute the level of the damages.
Between 2021 and 2025, he has won four IndyCar Series championships with CGR.
AlamyThe four-time IndyCar driver accused McLaren of stringing him along over an F1 seat[/caption]
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