Palou Puts Legal Battle to bed Before St. Petersburg
INDIANAPOLIS – Alex Palou put his legal battle with McLaren behind him as we head into the first NTT IndyCar Series race of the season.
McLaren Indy LLC, with McLaren Racing LTD, had filed a claim against the Spanish driver when he breached his contract in the summer of 2023. The now four-time IndyCar Series Champion freely admits that he broke the contract made with McLaren to stay with his current IndyCar team, Chip Ganassi Racing.
In their claim, McLaren listed the monetary losses that they believe have been the direct result of Palou’s breached contract. Listed reasons included the $400,000 sign-on bonus paid to Palou, loss of sponsorship money (including a renegotiation with NTT Data, which had entered into an agreement based on the understanding that Palou was to drive for Arrow McLaren), and performance-based revenue.
The lawsuit has now been settled following a $12 million ruling that looked to be headed to the appellate court.
“It’s the first time I can finally say that it’s over,” Palou said in a press conference before the first practice session of the 2026 season. “I can finally focus on what’s important, which is just to race, win races… I’m glad it’s now over and that it’s in the past.”
Palou is backed by team owner Chip Ganassi, who is now on the hook for the settled payout.
Ganassi released a statement through the team’s social media earlier today:
“I cannot condone what happened, and I’m glad that the matter is over. With the benefit of hindsight, I hope that Alex has learned it’s important to keep good people around him, which he now does, so the events of 2023 are never repeated.
I want to thank Zak and McLaren Racing for now giving us a chance to leave this matter behind us and fully focus on the exciting IndyCar season ahead.”
Palou won the season opener at St. Petersburg last season and hopes to repeat the result this weekend, and stated, “I think I’ve gone through a lot in the last two and a half or three seasons. I’m ready to get started now in 2026.”