Oscar Piastri signing blamed for collapse of Palou–McLaren deal

Alex Palou has told a London court that Oscar Piastri’s arrival at McLaren was the turning point that led him to walk away from the team’s IndyCar programme, according to a report by Sky Deutschland.

McLaren Racing chief Zak Brown testified this week at the High Court as the $20.7m damages case against the four-time IndyCar champion continued. Palou is accused of breaching his contract to race for McLaren in America after choosing instead to stay with Chip Ganassi Racing.

“The only attractive option was the path to Formula 1,” Palou said in his witness statement. “My ambition was to get into the biggest single-seater series in the world,” the Spaniard added. He told the court that McLaren’s announcement of Piastri as its new rookie for 2023 left him “very upset, worried, and angry that McLaren had signed another rookie.”

According to Sky Deutschland, Palou claimed Brown reassured him that his F1 prospects remained intact and that Piastri’s performance “would be measured against” his own.

Brown also allegedly told Palou that Piastri’s hiring “was not his decision but Andreas Seidl’s.” “From that point on, I knew everything had changed,” Palou said, explaining his decision to continue with Ganassi.

The report also noted that Brown was questioned over WhatsApp exchanges suggesting McLaren staff had deleted internal messages to “save themselves from lawsuits”, an accusation the American dismissed outright.

The case remains ongoing in the High Court.