IndyCar News: Piastri F1 deal triggered Palou's McLaren split

(GMM) Oscar Piastri’s arrival at McLaren was the key factor that ended Alex Palou’s relationship with the team, according to testimony reported by Sky Deutschland.

In London’s High Court this week, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown appeared as part of the ongoing $20.7 million damages case against the four-time IndyCar champion. Palou is accused of breaching his contract to drive for McLaren’s IndyCar program after deciding to remain with Chip Ganassi Racing.

“The only attractive option was the path to Formula 1,” Palou said in his witness statement. “My ambition was to get into the biggest single-seater series in the world,” the Spaniard continued.

He explained that when McLaren announced Piastri as its new rookie in late 2022, he “was very upset, worried, and angry that McLaren had signed another rookie.”

According to Sky Deutschland, Palou told the court that Brown assured him his Formula 1 hopes were still alive and that Piastri’s performance “would be measured against” his own. Brown also allegedly told Palou that hiring Piastri “was not his decision but Andreas Seidl’s.”

“From that point on, I knew everything had changed,” Palou said, explaining why he chose to stay at Ganassi.

The report added that Brown was later confronted with WhatsApp screenshots suggesting McLaren staff deleted internal messages to “save themselves from lawsuits,” which the American flatly denied.

The High Court proceedings continue in London.