The night of July 12, 2022 will go down in modern history as the day it was conceived one of the biggest soap operas that have ever exploded publicly in the world of the IndyCar Series and motoring in general. at its epicenter, Alex Palou, wrapped in a crossroads of declarations and announcements such as has rarely been seen. In just three and a half hours, the announcement of his renewal with Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2023 season went to a subsequent denial by the driver himself, and the announcement of his joining McLaren Racing for that same 2023, without a specific destination category and with a Formula 1 test on the horizon.
The chronological line of events occurs as follows: after several leaks, Chip Ganassi Racing issues a statement at 9:55 p.m. (Spanish time), in which it is announced that the team proceeded to exercise the option of renew for another year the contract that unites both parties since 2021. This statement included some statements attributed to Palou, in which the following is collected: “Knowing that I will be back with Ganassi next season is a great feeling. The team welcomed me with open arms from day one, and I am delighted to continue working (…) in this organization. The goals remain the same, and we will continue to work tirelessly to achieve them.”
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So far, everything normal and nominal… until 01:14 in the morning in Spain. Through his Twitter account, Palou makes some amazing statements in which he contradicts the announcement of the renewal: «I have just learned from the media that this afternoon, without my approval, Chip Ganassi Racing has issued a statement announcing that I would drive for CGR in 2023. Even more surprising is that the statement included some “statements” that did not come from me. I do not endorse that statement, and I neither endorse nor am the author of that sentence. As I have recently informed the CGR, for personal reasons, I have no intention of continuing with the team after 2022».
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The third and most powerful aftershock of the earthquake comes just eight minutes later, at which point McLaren Racing proceeded to publicly announce the signing of Álex Palou for the 2023 season. Notably, this announcement is made through the Formula 1 team’s networks, and not Arrow McLaren SP, the IndyCar lineup. This statement, which did have an acknowledgment in the form of a tweet quoted by Palou, does not specify at any time the category in which the current IndyCar champion would compete in 2023, with the team saving announcing their lineups for later. This already happened three weeks ago with the “IndyCar or Formula E” dichotomy of Felix Rosenqvist’s renewal, although potential options are not even mentioned now.
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What is mentioned is that Palou will become part of its TPC (“test of previous cars program”) with the 2021 McLaren MCL35M Along with two of his competitors in IndyCar, the Mexican Pato O’Ward (who tested the car in the Abu Dhabi post-season tests in December 2020) and the American Colton Herta, driver of Andretti Autosport, who this week has completed two days of private testing on the Portimao track. Now, in his own words, Palou comments in the statement that he is “excited to be able to show what I can do behind the wheel of a Formula 1, and see what doors can be opened».
Of course, Ganassi’s reaction to all this has not been long in coming. At 03:46 in the morning, the team’s spokesperson sent a brief sentence to all the specialized media: «Our statement today already said: We can confirm that Álex Palou has a valid contract with the team until the end of 2023». In turn, information from the Brazilian media Grand Prize assures that Ganassi would be evaluating leave Palou without a seat for the remainder of the seasonhaving even contacted Tony Kanaan to find out his availability for this weekend’s Indy Toronto, or for future rounds.
And now that? IndyCar, Formula 1… or Formula E?
The possibility of Palou ending up at McLaren has not come out of nowhere, and it was a constant noise in the paddock since the beginning of June, in the days after the Indianapolis 500, in which a Scott Dixon was also involved, who would have been offered a percentage of the team and a future position of responsibility within McLaren. At the bottom of the whole thing, they are the financial terms of the original contract signed with Ganassi, a team to which Palou arrived after finishing 16th in his rookie season, and that the application of the 2+1 clause (which could even be a 2+1+1) would not entail a salary increase in accordance with his new status.
His departure from Ganassi also presents an interesting scenario, as Palou has competed to date in the United States with direct support from Honda, while McLaren SP uses Chevrolet engines. In this sense, it should be noted that, as revealed IndyStarPalou is no longer working with Roger Yasukawa, who was the main architect of his arrival in the championship by putting him in contact with Dale Coyne and obtaining financial support from Honda. The ex-pilot had worked jointly in the tasks of representation with Monaco Increase Managementowned by Salvatore Gandolfo, ex-owner of Campos Racing, and which also runs the careers of Pascal Wehrlein and David Vidales.
Álex Palou finished second in his last race at Mid-Ohio, two weeks ago / @ IndyCar Media
A change in the situation in terms of representation that might not be trivial for everything mentioned, and for other potential implications. In the first instance, it could be taken for granted that the fate of the Spaniard falls on one of the three cars of the IndyCar team in its future expansion, along with an O’Ward whose renewal was announced on May 27 and the new addition of Alexander Rossi, confirmed on June 2. However, the circumstances surrounding this particular trading card change, with a potential legal dispute in sightmake this not such an obvious choice.
In addition to his aforementioned availability for a Formula 1 that on several occasions he denied that he was pursuing, there is the real possibility that it is Palou, and not Rosenqvist, who ends up competing in the new McLaren team in Formula E next season as an intermediate step to get around the restrictions of his current contract with Ganassi. A possibility that would well explain the ‘official limbo’ in which Rosenqvist finds himself, whose situation at the public level was already highly unusual. It is even possible that Ganassi, in case of winning the war, would force Palou into a period of ‘gardening leave’ in which he would remain under contract in 2023, but not compete.
For now, the team has been testing the ground for weeks in the face of these events, consulting potential substitutes for the future, and the Dutchman Rinus VeeKay, who races for Ed Carpenter Racing, seems best placed to replace Palou should the need arise. The fact that there is an event in Toronto this weekend, in IndyCar’s return to Canadian streets three years later, creates an even more uncomfortable situation for all parties involved, who have two days to reach an ‘entente cordiale’ before the cars hit the track on Friday. It is now, curiously, that Palou’s unusually tense statements on Road America after his incident with his partner Marcus Ericsson make much more sense…
From here, all the options seem to be on the table, at the beginning of an all-out war between two teams with completely frigid relationships and full of animosity since Rosenqvist signed for McLaren SP in 2021 without letting Ganassi know. A movement that allowed, in turn, the arrival of Palou in car number 10. Few drivers would choose to leave a winning team and car where everything works so well without a good reason behind it, especially when Palou was clearly marked as Dixon’s heir for the next 10-15 years. So we just have to wait to determine if the ‘all-in’ allows us to win the game or the bank wins it…
Photos: IndyCar Media