The WEIRD And WILD Alex Palou Contract Situation

In July 2022 the IndyCar world was rocked with a strange situation regarding 2021 IndyCar champion. Both Chip Ganassi Racing and McLaren claimed to have signed the driver for the 2023 IndyCar season. Alex Palou wanted to leave Ganassi for McLaren but would end up honoring is contract with Ganassi to stay with the team. Now in August 2023 and Alex Palou running away with the IndyCar championship, it was now come out that Palou does not want to honor is 2024 contract with McLaren and intends to stay with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2024.
Sorry if my voice sounds a little raspy, I was feeling a little under the weather when I recorded this.
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[@tommythetreat000]

The fact Alex hasnt finished lower than 8th this season is insane given how anything can happen in IndyCar races.

[@Rypsolisti]

Reminds me of Jenson Button contract saga in F1 in early 2000´s. Button was at BAR but had signed a contract (for next season I think) with Williams but then wanted himself to get out of that Williams contract and ultimately stayed with BAR Honda for many years. But this Palou thing is much weirder.

[@tadroid3858]

I'm amazed that Palou has maintained his focus throughout all this crap. The guy is focused!!

[@bjs7442]

The crap was caused by Alex.

[@tadroid3858]

@@bjs7442 Do you think it was all Alex, or do you think he might have a sketchy PR team? I don't know. I'm just asking.

[@bjs7442]

@@tadroid3858 I dont know if he has a PR team. I have the greatest respect for his driving and achievements but wonder if his success has gone to his head or attracted some very poor advisors who think he can do what he likes. No driver is above the teams and certainly not Zak Brown. Perhaps he thinks CG will pay the court award and legal costs as he has pleaded guilty to breaking his contract. I wouldn't be optimistic on that front as CG are nothing to do with it.

[@tadroid3858]

@@bjs7442 Interesting. Thanks for a bit of insight. Peace.

[@XemawthEvo2]

If my management team that was trying to get me into F1 was instructing me to egregiously break my championship winning contract, so I could hastily jump to a worse team within the series for a "chance" at an F1 seat, I would be severing ties with them as well. Massive respect to Chip Ganassi assuming all the information is accurate. It sounds like CGR sat Alex down and let him know they could completely fire him from his contract, but that they would rather continue to win together. Chip is a former Indy racer himself, and probably understands the driver's mentality better than most. Being able to set all the nonsense aside, and logically convince Alex their winning formula is where he truly belongs takes some serious business and racing savvy. Best of luck to Alex

[@pikestance4219]

Well, I highly doubt everything is rosey on his end. It isn't looking like Norris or Piastri will be leaving any time soon, so the door unexpectedly shut on Alex. If you going to point fingers it should be pointed at Alex's management team who McLaren would have contacted first before approaching Alex.

[@bjs7442]

There are two different things happening here . The first was joining AM when unknown to them he was actually still under contract to CG. So AM backed down and let him stay at CG for 2023 until that contract had finished. That chapter is closed. Secondly he signed to then join AM as an Indycar driver for the 2024 season and onwards to also try to progress opportunities in F1. He was made an F1 test and reserve driver . He signed and I assumed he and his management team read and signed that contract and what it promised and didnt promise. Because he has just won the Indycar championship with CG he has unilateral decided to ignore the contract he signed and walk away and do the dirty on AM. His management team have walked away, I assume in disgust by his actions and also to distance themselves from his decision which is completely unethical and open to litigation. I have no sympathy for Alex Palou and he deserves what he gets.

[@kyleolson8977]

McLaren should get Palou in F1 to team with Piastri as part of "Team Dueling Press Releases".

[@marcelf0252]

They're just gonna buy Alpha Tauri and put them in their new "Team DPR" cars xD

[@bjs7442]

Have you forgotten Lando Norris who is one of the top four drivers in the world drives for them.

[@Evarakeus]

@@bjs7442 Lando's not even top 4 in F1, let alone the world lol

[@bjs7442]

@@Evarakeus Sorry to have to enlighten you but he is in the latest rankings.

[@HAWGGY85]

Looks like he signed with Arrow McLaren with an aim to move to McLaren F1 short after (maybe replace Ricciardo?). Once he realised that this will not happen, as Piastri doing great right now, there were no reasons to move from CGR.

[@bjs7442]

One big reason, he had signed a contract to drive for Arrow Mclaren. If you put your signature on a contract you should first read what it says and then honor it if you sign it.

[@evanwhite8377]

The fact that chip blames mclaren is ridiculous. It’s all Alex trying to go to f1 and when he continued his success in Indy and with Oscar clearly staying in f1 for awhile there is no hope for Alex in f1. So he decided to stay where he is because it’s working. Which is what he should have done in the first place.

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

The drama was so crazy, it became a sequel. Hopefully Chip does keep him. Chances are, he will

[@Demise90Racing]

I think so too. He will most likely stay at Ganassi, and his F1 chances with McLaren are definitely gone now.

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

@@Demise90Racing he’d run midfield anyway in F1.

[@danielhenderson8316]

@@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YTHe was running with Lando Norris at his FP1 drive with McLaren before Norris bolted on soft tires. Sadly, running midpack in F1 probably pays a lot better than IndyCar and he'd be closer to home. However, if he hasn't been blackballed by F1 for his contract shenanigans by now, I don't see any team trusting him in the future.

[@AlistairMaxwell77]

@@danielhenderson8316 cgr are paying him 6.5m per year . more than half the f1 drivers get

[@deepinthewoods8078]

@@danielhenderson8316 i also think he's gotten a bit too old for the F1 managers by now. It is rumored that Chip Ganassi will pay him 6,5 million dollars per year, which is better than a F1 midfield contract...

[@alecerdmann8505]

I'm no expert in contracts and I do not know anyone in IndyCar, let alone Alex Palou or anyone involved in his management, on a personal or insider level in any way, shape or form, but my feeling from the information I have heard is that this might be mostly on Monaco Management. Alex perhaps made a bad decision a couple of years ago by switching to them, but I feel like they probably sold him with "we can get you to F1." From there I feel like they told him and McLaren "don't worry about the 2023 option, as long as you sign before CGR picks it up, you're golden." Then we had the dueling drama of CGR suing Palou and nearly the same situation happening with Piastri and McLaren in F1. There had been off-season and early season rumors than Lando was unhappy with McLaren and may be looking to leave, which could have possibly opened up a spot for Palou and Monaco Managment may have been counting on that. Now that McLaren has had significant success with its upgrades, the pairing of Piastri and Norris seems likely set for the foreseeable future and McLaren/Monaco Management may have told Palou he will only be staying in IndyCar. At that point Palou may have thought "**** you guys, you promised me F1 and if I'm staying in IndyCar, I'd rather drive for Ganassi." Obviously this is all conjecture, but it could be that Alex made a bad decision regarding management, followed by a lot of bad/insincere advice from said management and it ended up burning him on a PR level. If he ends up staying at Ganassi and continuing to have a lot of IndyCar success this might well all be a humorous footnote in 5 years.

[@Demise90Racing]

You summed this up well, and everything you said makes perfect sense. I'm sure we will never know the full details, but it seems like the majority of folks are piecing the puzzle of this situation together in a very similar way. I honestly feel for Alex. He has exceptional talent, and is literally one of the nicest people in the IndyCar paddock. I was able to catch him in Toronto and he gladly stopped and took the time to sign my diecast and have a quick chat. That positive interaction alone made me a fan of his for life.

[@bjs7442]

The only thing I would say as a Mclaren F1 fan is that there was no issue with Piastri and Mclaren. It all turned out to be Alpine making out he was under contract when in fact he wasnt and was a free agent. The media hyped it up before the facts were known. That was confirmed by the F1 Contract recognition Board. The contract turned out not to be one but simply their plans for his future over a year earlier and no signed piece of paper existed. Alpine were asleep on the job in my opinion. Also Lando was going nowhere. He had turned down Red Bull. He had a contract running for three more years at $20million a year. Oscar fell into Mclarens lap and to be honest to me is a better driver than Alex and much younger. No F1 team would promise an F1 seat and a time scale and I am confident that was not in the contract Alex signed.

[@therago1456]

I'll always remember that week as that was the week Seb retired while the whole deal with Oscar Piastri deal with Alpine happened and Tyler Reddick and RCR and some of the stuff RC said. Big week for contracts ngl.

[@Demise90Racing]

It really was a wild and weird time for contracts.

[@ShaqFuGuru]

He’s making a legacy now in Indycar as a champion. His pans probably also changed with Mclaren’s F1 team currently locked up with Norris and Piastri.

[@danielhenderson8316]

My question on this is who's the deceitful one? Alex himself for his Monaco Management? While I don't leave McLaren as blameless in this situation, Alex and his management staff know better than anyone what his contract actually says, yet they still breeched their contracts by negotiating with other teams before they were allowed to by contract, and now Alex wants to weasel out again? Let's hope his new management team does better because if this happens again, it's probably 3 strikes and your out for anyone outside of a Sale Coyne team.

[@izzieb]

Apparently he was managed by an individual before and then became managed by the Monaco Management company and as of the statement is now being managed by the original individual.

[@t23001]

Track performance counts for a lot. However, the business side is vitally important. The car owner needs to line up sponsors and have good relationships with IndyCar and Honda or Chevy. Alex is on a hot streak now, but if he’s seen as unreliable as a businessman, then current events will come back to bite him when his track performance declines.

[@unpass]

You sound like BFM here haha. Get well!

[@Demise90Racing]

Lmao. I'm well now, I think some of the voice issues came from yelling chirps at the Chicago Cubs bullpen at the Blue Jays game on Friday night 😂

[@deepinthewoods8078]

Alex Palou had the ill-conceived idea to dump Roger Yasukawa as manager in 2022, followed by the equally bad idea to sign for McLaren while still under contract with Chip Ganassi. Now Alex has teamed up with Roger Yasukawa again so reason has come back... i bet he'll stay with Chip Ganassi for years to come.... maybe over 15 years and win many more Indycar titles and never go to Formula 1

[@Demise90Racing]

When I recorded this I was not aware yet that he brought Roger Yasukawa back. It just seems like he got his hopes up really high at a potential F1 opportunity. He jumped too quickly on important decisions, and ended up making so vital mistakes that he seems to be trying to undo. I suspect he has to stay with Ganassi now, as other teams might not even look his way after all this, despite the amazing talent that he has.

[@deepinthewoods8078]

@@Demise90Racing i think Alex Palou learned his lesson by now. I think he's a good guy, who got played out by a bad manager, and had to undo this huge mistake. From now on i don't think we'll ever see any more contract-related troubles again concerning Alex Palou...

[@Demise90Racing]

@@deepinthewoods8078 agreed 👍

[@Dat-Mudkip]

Can you _blame_ Alex for wanting to stay at CGR with how his current season is going?

[@aaronspringer8293]

this whole thing reminds me of the Jenson button williams/bar saga.

[@LightsOutLow]

yep would have said the same thing. in the end, Jenson had to buy out his 2005 Williams contract in order to drive with BAR Honda!

[@luizfilipediasgenesi172]

Well Zak Brown atracted Palou with promisses, now the chance gonne with Oscar Piastri. And with a driver who actually could do bad moviments on contratcs, Mr Zak Brown is surprise?? After him singning a bunch of drivers with F1 promisses last year? Im not aprove this situation by Palou. I think is bad for his reputation as a person and a driver. But, well, as we saying here in Brasil: "in case of fighting, I side with the fighting!".

[@BullockMemes]

why going in a midfield team in f1 and never win a race, when you can stay in indycar and win other championships? i think he will remain in indycar for many years, and i would do the same if i were him. now that he's a star in the states

[@bartsullivan4866]

I agree, at least until he wins the 500 then after you have done all there is to do see if an F1 team will give you a competitive car.

[@steveelrino1339]

Ideally midfield leads to frontrunner seat. F1 is the dream.

[@Jil8840]

I don't think he wants to become like Scott Dixon. He wants to go to f1, even in a mediocre team. He is getting older.

[@Thedutchman12]

@@bartsullivan4866 I don't see any top team giving him a seat because they already have their current and future drivers locked in. Also he would be too old by the team he joins F1 as a rookie.

[@bjs7442]

The fact are that Alex Palou signed a contract with Arrow Mclaren . They have done everything they said would happen in that contract. there was no promise of an F1 drive only that he would gain F1 experience, test for them, be a reserve driver and even take part in FP1 sessions. The seat was always subject to availability. If he wanted a guarantee and no F1 team ever guarantees a driver with such limited experience of F1 then he should have made sure it was in the contract. Palou is a great In Indycar but that doesnt mean he will be a great success in F1. He should honour the contract he signed and not do the dirty on Mclaren. I dont blame Mclaren claiming for damages. They cant just turn a blind eye to drivers walking away from contracts when it suits them.

[@bartsullivan4866]

I kind of feel like after he won the 1st indycar championship he was expecting more money and prestige like an F1 World Champion, and when he didn't get it. I think he wanted the chance to go to an F1 car. When he won Leguna last year and his 4 race wins this year most likely going to be a 2 time Indycar champion hopefully that pads his resume enough to get an F1 ride in the future. No doubt very talented drives very smart nearly beat Helio at Indy last year and outside of the Veekay contact in pitlane this year was the car to beat at Indy. It was great to see his enthusiasm winning the pole you want passion like that not planks of wood.

[@marcellakilgarriff]

The only problem with that is that there's a lot of talented young drivers coming up through the junior categories and only 20 F1 seats. Given this whole contract debacle I'm not sure it would be worth it for an F1 team even with two Indycar titles. Although having an Indycar champion on the grid could increase US interest in F1 so who knows.

[@bartsullivan4866]

Good point Marcella thank you for the reply. And with F1 really pushing their younger drivers in the Drive To Survive show not likely Palou would get a competitive car anyway. It seems like a lot more former F1 champions come over to indycar rather than reverse. Emerson, Nigel, Alonso etc etc I do feel like Colton Herta got screwed though and it felt like the Indycar drivers rallied behind him and feel like they could go toe to toe with the F1 drivers. Pato and Alex both seem like they would like a chance at F1.@@marcellakilgarriff

[@marcellakilgarriff]

@@bartsullivan4866 I think once Oscar was put into that McLaren seat that door closed for Palou and he realised he wasn't going to get a more competitive seat anywhere else. It's a hard road into F1 with such limited seats available and so many people vying for them

[@bartsullivan4866]

@@marcellakilgarriff how much money does the F1 world champion get

[@marcellakilgarriff]

@@bartsullivan4866 I'm not sure actually, more than the IndyCar champion imagine.

[@plisskenationbackfromthede3657]

I have a feeling his future contracts are gonna be written up 100% airtight now by anyone who signs him with alot more clauses against talking to anyone at all lol. Reap what you sow

[@TheFantomsLair]

Exactly, reap what you sow, Zak :)

[@alexcarolan8825]

Not that I care that much tbh but feels like karma in the sense that Mclaren F1 more or less stole Oscar Piastri from Alpine F1 team lol

[@cito1101]

With the season that Palou is having this year, and in position to get championship number 2, I doubt CGR gets rid of him

[@vandalsgarage]

Palou is 26 years old. If he races IndyCar for another year, he'd be a 28 year old F1 rookie. A year to get his bearings and learn the circuits, he'd be 29 or 30 before he'd be competitive, IF he's in a competitive car. But maybe he's got a long game plan with Ferrari for when Leclerc goes to RBR in a couple of years. It would be hysterical if another F1 team has poached him from McLaren.

[@peters5333]

so let me get this straight. currently he's under contract to CGR. but McLaren states that he does not want to honor his 2024 contract with McLaren. lawyers and contract legal experts here...tell me is he allowed to have 2 contracts signed at once even though the 2024 contract is also for IndyCar? that was sarcasm. he has one contract. CGR. McLaren is crying crocodile tears. there is no McLaren contract.

[@danielhenderson8316]

With as trashy as Palou's Monaco Management is/was, he probably has two contracts with his signature on them. As this goes on and with Palou back with his original manager, it's looking like Palou's management has created all the drama that Palou has been involved with and fired for good reason.

[@peters5333]

@@danielhenderson8316 not sure I entirely buy it. Marshall Pruett reported last Saturday from an impeccable source that Monaco Management was heavily shopping Palou to Andretti! Would that indicate he had a contract with McLaren? All they seem to have is a verbal agreement. So let's peel the onion back and look at last week as opposed to last year. Palou took a few steps back and read the landscape. He's leading the Indy Car championship. That alone is a bargaining chip (pun intended). His goal was F1. McLaren had Danny Ric and Piastri did sign but was still an unknown and with Piastri and Lando killing it, it wasn't going to happen. Let's sashay back to IndyCar. I have no doubt Marcus E will sign with Andretti so Chip has some play money. Why not invest it in a cat that will be the Scott Dixon for years. That being Alex. And let's look at McLaren Arrow SP. Not exactly a stellar year. Pato spent half the year ramming other cars. FRO has had some good race but was going to be odd man out there with Palou more that likely to get his seat but the Chevy engine is not up to snuff this year. And the chemistry is all wrong. The ultimate chemistry killer, Alex Rossi, turned up. Alex was a winner at one time but a guaranteed 7th place driver this year. So Senor Palou used his head. And convinced his wife, that maybe just maybe North America is where they should stay.

[@danielhenderson8316]

@@peters5333 From the info that keeps coming out, I wouldn't be surprised if Monaco Investment Management wouldn't try to squirm out of any contract if they could get Palou to Andretti and by extension Andretti Cadillac. The longer this plays out, the more they seem to come out the villain in this situation.

[@fredjames9867]

Zak conman brown . After Renault and this . Zac most likely offered the potential of a f1 drive . Then palou saw the Renault thing happen realise he never getting that drive and wanted out

[@luism.5999]

Just watched this man on the Thermal $1 million dollar challenge and he blew away the competition. Fkn cameras couldn't even catch him. Tell me, what's the difference between him and the world? Everybody sucks.

[@luism.5999]

The most beautiful 'ugly situation anyone can have' lol

[@luism.5999]

The irony in this wrongfully placed quote mark....hehehe

[@thefinisher04]

In Spain we have clear that he should stay at indycar and become a series legends

[@mikulitsi1819]

Honestly what a mess

[@chillenlikeavillain]

The saga continues

[@petemc4190]

It’s entertaining he’s trying to behave like an f1 driver regarding contracts, just without being one… worst of all it’s almost like he’s not been paying much attention to f1 and his chances of a drive are limited till 2025 when most drivers contracts are up. Someone should take him aside, get his head back into racing and looking how he’ll get enough super license points if he really wants that f1 seat

[@ervinr82]

He likes his own personal "silly season"...

[@luism.5999]

Everything aside he looks like a kid so he must be acting like one out there. One learned keeping a shut mouth will make the world come to you. Hope you read this man. Good luck out there(though you didn't need it)

[@pierre-richard6779]

F1 bound ?

[@alessandrosanna1270]

Per la mia opnione fa bene anche perché zak broun non e nuovo a queste cose

[@001phila]

Make your mind up kid, FFS

[@waynekerr67]

He did. Driving for the team that gives him the best chance to win.

[@KevinHarvickisnothappy4]

Is this the guy that had botted social media followers lol (not talking about demise its alex palou i remember watching a video of that)

[@Demise90Racing]

Yeah it is. I forgot about that lol.

[@CptJET-he8nc]

👍

[@Mysterion157]

Palou is a PR nightmare. Teams shouldn't touch him with a 10ft pole

[@waynekerr67]

So when teams fuck over drivers it's ok but it's a no go the other way around? C'mon

[@Mysterion157]

@@waynekerr67 we know 0 facts about any of this. It’s all behind closed doors. You think it’s only the teams you’re insane