Overview
- McLaren is seeking roughly $20–21 million in damages over Palou’s decision to stay with Chip Ganassi Racing, citing a $400,000 signing bonus, lost sponsorship and added costs such as promoting Pato O’Ward into its F1 test programme.
- In sworn evidence, Palou said Zak Brown told him “we could make it happen” for F1 and later indicated Oscar Piastri’s performance would be evaluated against his for a potential 2024 seat.
- Brown testified he never promised Palou an F1 seat or even consideration and said the reversal put McLaren’s IndyCar operation in crisis and forced sponsor renegotiations.
- WhatsApp screenshots shown in court suggested disappearing messages were used inside McLaren, an allegation the team denies as it rejects any claim of evidence destruction.
- Palou said a possible AlphaTauri opportunity cooled after Brown spoke with Helmut Marko, and the London trial is set to resume on October 20 with closing submissions in early November and a written judgment to follow.