Mclaren’s déjà vu driver dealing

With the recent Formula 1 incident of Oscar Piastri denying that he will be racing for Alpine next year, it brings to mind a similar story in Indy car just a few weeks back. The incident once again involves The McLaren Racing team.

Deja Vu moments

Last year’s Indy Car drivers champion, Alex Palou was involved in controversy when his team tweeted a statement saying that they reached an agreement with the driver for the next season.

Chip Ganassi Racing announced today that the team has exercised its option to extend @AlexPalou through the 2023 season.

“Alex’s track record speaks for itself. He’s a proven champion and one of the most formidable drivers in the world.” – @GanassiChiphttps://t.co/PTIcqIp37N pic.twitter.com/9coZ12KhOh

— Chip Ganassi Racing (@CGRTeams) July 12, 2022

However, Alex released a statement a bit later and said that the team released the press release without his approval and that he did not want to continue with the team next year.

I have recently learned from the media that this afternoon, without my approval, Chip Ganassi Racing issued a press release announcing that I would be driving with CGR in 2023. Even more surprising was that CGR’s release included a “quote” which did not come from me.

— Alex Palou Montalbo (@AlexPalou) July 12, 2022

Sounds familiar right?

Well, Shortly after releasing that statement, Mclaren announced that Alex would be driving for them in 2023.

¡Hola Alex! 🇪🇸

McLaren Racing welcomes #INDYCAR champion @AlexPalou to its driver roster from 2023, as the team continues to build talent across all of its racing series. 👊

Our full driver line-up across all racing series will be confirmed in due course.

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 12, 2022

Alex Palou’s team, Chip Ganassi Racing is now planning to take the driver to court as they felt that they had the driver’s rights for the next season since he was contractually bound to them. And Alex is planning to counter-sue his team.

alex palou🤝oscar piastri
having their seats
announced without
their permission

— amelia 🏎🏁 (@f1milharrington) August 2, 2022

So how will that turn out? Well, there’s probably a couple of million dollars involved and things could take time to settle down.
So it’ll be safe to say that McLaren-linked Oscar Piastri could be driving down a similar road, but this time it’s the road to Formula 1.