IndyCar Champion Battle Alex Palou will be taken to court when Chip Ganassi Racing files a lawsuit in Indiana against the Spaniard who is planning to leave the team at the end of the season.
Palou is in his second season driving for Ganassi. The team owner said he has chosen the exclusive option he hosts in Palou for the 2023 season. Palou, meanwhile, says he has informed CGR that he has no intention of returning. back for a third season, and McLaren Racing said it has signed the driver for next year.
The lawsuit, filed in Marion County Superior Court in Indianapolis, names both Palou and ALPA Racing, listed as Palou’s “racing entity,” as defendants.
“Alex Palou has a contract with Chip Ganassi Racing through the end of the 2023 season,” the team said in a statement Wednesday. “He is a valuable member of our team and we will continue to support him in his pursuit of victories, podiums and the IndyCar championship.
“Due to a competitive racing team improperly attempting to contract him despite the express terms of our contract, we are proceeding with contractual legal proceedings. Any and All inquiries in this regard will be handled by our attorneys.”
McLaren Racing head Zak Brown has repeatedly told the Associated Press that he signed Palou under the representation that Palou is a free agent. Brown has yet to decide where he will use Palou, and options include from a third seat in the IndyCar Series, a possible shot in the Formula One seat or even the new Formula E team it projects. to be released next year.
Palou spent his first IndyCar season driving for Dale Coyne Racing in 2020 and then moved to Ganassi last year, where he won the championship and became the first driver since. Dario Franchitti in 2012 to win races in Ganassi’s No. 10 car.
Ganassi on July 12 said he has exercised the 2023 option for Palou. Hours later, Palou released a series of tweets stating that he has no intention of returning to the team next year.
Minutes after Palou’s tweet, McLaren said it had signed the driver.
Palou was under intense surveillance in the IndyCar compound when the movie opened, along with his teammates Scott Dixon among the most important in terms of how Palou handled the situation. Palou had insisted a month earlier that he was not interested in leaving Ganassi, and he insisted that his June statements were not a lie.
With five races remaining in the season, Palou is sixth on the IndyCar leaderboard, 44 points behind Indianapolis 500 winner and teammate Ganassi. Marcus Ericsson.
