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Brown laughs off "clearly ludicrous" Palou court claims amid trial
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown describes claims made by Alex Palou during the court case into the Spaniard’s breach of IndyCar contract as “clearly ludicrous.”
McLaren is seeking nearly $20 million in damages after Palou backed out of a move from Chip Ganassi Racing in late 2023, opting to stay with Ganassi and going on to win three consecutive IndyCar championships from 2023 to '25. McLaren alleges it lost out on on-track success in IndyCar, as well as taking a hit with sponsorship deals and other drivers’ salaries.
The case is being heard in London’s High Court, and last Friday in a witness statement Palou claimed Brown told him it had been then McLaren F1 team principal Andreas Seidl’s decision to sign Oscar Piastri.
“Zak told me that Oscar’s performance would be evaluated against mine for the 2024 seat,” Palou had added, as he argued he had been misled over his chances of earning a race seat with McLaren in F1, as part of negotiations to sign in IndyCar.
Brown attended multiple days of the hearing and was also questioned by Palou’s lawyer, with the four-time IndyCar champion admitting breach of contract but arguing he owes nothing and that McLaren has mitigated any losses.
“I'm not sure which allegation amused me more – the notion that I would not be the one making a key decision about our driver line-up, or the suggestion that I wasn’t on board with signing the hugely talented Oscar Piastri,” Brown was quoted as saying by Reuters. “Both allegations are clearly ludicrous – and anyone who follows our sport will see straight through them.”
Unconcerned that the claims in court could harm his relationship with Piastri, Brown insists he and the Australian have joked about the situation prior to this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
“We have the absolute best driver pairing on the F1 grid in Oscar and Lando [Norris] – I could not be more thrilled with their incredible performance and their sportsmanship," he said. "I’m excited for the awesome racing we’re going to see for the rest of the season.”
F1’s race in Austin coincides with a break in court proceedings, with the hearing set to resume on Oct. 20 and expected to run into November.
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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