IndyCar’s Alex Palou And Felix Rosenqvist Staying With Respective Teams In 2023

Like a daily “Soap Opera” on television, just when the viewer is ready for the climatic ending, the storyline shifts in another direction.

That is the best way to describe the off-track contractual battles involving 2021 NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou of Spain with Chip Ganassi Racing and the collateral damage that could have involved Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden at Arrow McLaren SP.

There won’t be a stunning climax to this one because on September 14, both sides announced their drivers were staying put. Palou, who won Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey by 30.3812 seconds over Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, will continue to drive the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda for Ganassi. Rosenqvist, who had an impressive rebound season for Arrow McLaren SP, will return to the No. 7 Chevrolet.

The only thing missing from this surprisingly-time announcement was Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” before fade to black that left many viewers of “The Soprano’s” wondering how the series actually ended.

In this IndyCar Soap Opera, it was more like the series-finale of “Seinfeld” – where a show about nothing had an ending that made no sense.

It was back on July 12 when Chip Ganassi Racing sent out a release that said it was pickup up Palou’s option year in 2023. Included was a statement from Palou saying how happy he was to return to the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda for the 2023 IndyCar Series season.

A few hours later, Palou issued a Tweet stating he had never said that quote and he was not returning to CGR for 2023.

A few minutes after that Tweet, McLaren issued a release saying the team had signed Palou to driver for its in team in a racing series “to be determined.”

That is the same type of release McLaren issued on June 23 when it said Rosenqvist had signed a contract to remain with McLaren in 2023.

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown hinted that Rosenqvist could be leading up the team’s recently formed Formula E program if he was not chosen to continue at Arrow McLaren SP’s IndyCar team.

Rosenqvist wanted to remain in IndyCar. He was stunned when the Palou announcement was made.

But Ganassi was infuriated.

He knew Palou was still under contract to him in 2023 and sued the driver. Before court proceedings were expected to begin in Hamilton County, Indiana this Fall, Ganassi, McLaren and Palou agreed to a Federal Mediation process.

A sizable amount of money would have to be exchanged between McLaren and Ganassi if Palou was doing to be released by Ganassi.

There were periods of the 2022 IndyCar Series season where this storyline overshadowed the dramatic battle for the season championship that was ultimately clinched by Team Penske’s Will Power for the second time in his career.

The rewards for this one, however, is the sanctity of a contract. Ganassi had a contract with Palou and had the advantage in any impending legal battle.

Many contracts have buy-out clauses, but the amount that Ganassi was willing to accept was far more than Brown and McLaren believed was reasonable.

Brown believed Palou was free and clear of his contract when they agreed to sign him on July 12, but that turned out to be wrong.

Brown met with a very small, select group of reporters including me Sunday morning in his “Condor” motorhome at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca before the 2022 IndyCar season finale.

The key takeaway from that conversation is Brown was impressed with the way Rosenqvist had finished the season and believed he deserved to be in IndyCar next season. He also values Palou’s racing ability tremendously and may have him in line for an F1 opportunity one day but wants to make him one of the team’s test drivers in its Test of Previous Cars (TPC) program.

“My ultimate ambition is Alex is a McLaren Racing driver, and we have the benefit of having a variety of teams,” Brown said. “Certainly, he’ll have opportunity that we can provide him. The possibility of Formula One, I think that’s what is attractive to him.

“It’s still a work in progress. What I would say is I’m very happy with Felix. He’s done an excellent job this year. He’s been strong all year. We’ll see how that works out. I’d be very happy to have Felix in our car again. “We need to make a decision, because I think he would be picked up by another (IndyCar) team.”

Brown was asked what the likelihood of Palou’s situation being resolved within the next three weeks, Brown said, “hard to tell. I’d say the ball is in Chip’s court.

“We wait. I think they need to resolve the situation.”

Wednesday morning, it all became official as McLaren issued a statement that settled both drivers’ near-term futures.

O’Ward remains at Arrow McLaren SP on a three-driver team that includes talented Mexican driver Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi, the winner of the 100^th Indianapolis 500 who comes over from Andretti Autosport.

Palou will officially be one of McLaren’s test drivers in Formula One while continuing in IndyCar at Chip Ganassi Racing.

Palou began his first Formula One TPC test on Wednesday.

Palou finished fifth in the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series standings. Rosenqvist finished eighth in the standings and an impressive fourth in the 106^thIndianapolis 500 on May 29.

“I’m delighted that Felix will again be racing with AMSP through 2023,” Brown said. “He had a strong 2022 season, and I look forward to seeing what he, Alex Rossi and Pato O’Ward can do when they join forces in papaya (McLaren’s colors).”

Rosenqvist proved he was deserving of this honor by the way he handled a difficult situation, when it looked like he was being pushed aside in favor of Palou.

“There’s no better way to enter the off-season than with this news,” Rosenqvist said. “I love this team, and I’m so happy to continue working with all the incredible people I’ve gotten to know over the past two seasons. With everything the team has in the pipeline, the continuing relationship with Pato and the addition of Alex Rossi, we are going to bring our A-game for 2023. It will be the most exciting season for me so far.

“Let it be March already.”

Palou reacted to the news on Twitter:

“I’m excited to announce that @CGRTeams and I have come to an agreement, and I will be back in the No. 10 car next season. Look forward to a BIG 2023,” Palou’s Tweet said.

In the winner’s interview Sunday in Monterey, Palou said he had talked with Ganassi on Sunday morning before the race. He said they talked about 2023 and gave a crack of hope that an agreement was near.

“Yeah, we’ll see when I know,” Palou said. “I wish I could tell you guys, ‘Hey, I’m doing this,’ but I don’t have an answer yet.

“Maybe tomorrow.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have anything to share. I think everything is moving in the right direction. I don’t know if it’s going to take one day, one week or one month, but hopefully everything is going to be solved soon.

“I don’t have anything to say clear, but everything is moving the right direction.”

This contract dispute of an owner taking a driver to court is reminiscent of a contract dispute in the National Football League in 1966 involving a head coach and one of his assistant coaches.

George Allen was the defensive coordinator for a Chicago Bears team that was the NFL’s best when it came to defense. With such names as Bill George, Ed O’Bradovich, Larry Morris, Rosey Taylor and Richie Petitbon, the defense led the Bears to the 1963 NFL Championship.

The Bears defeated the New York Giants 14-10 in 10-degree weather at Wrigley Field in Chicago in a defensive struggle.

In 1965, the Bears added two of the greatest players in NFL history including running back Gale Sayers and middle linebacker Dick Butkus.

Allen coached Butkus and the Bears nearly returned to the NFL Championship that season, falling short by one-and-a-half games to the Green Bay Packers, a team in the midst of a dynasty in the 1960s.

After serving as an assistant coach and later as defensive coordinator since 1958, Allen agreed to become head coach of the Los Angeles Rams.

Halas, the man who founded the NFL in Canton, Ohio in 1919, refused to let Allen go because he still had a contract to coach the Bears. Halas took Allen to court, claiming breach of contract.

Halas won the court case, then immediately let Allen go, stating that he had made his point about the sanctity of a contract and how it must be honored.

Allen would go on to become one of the best head coaches of his era, saving two foundering franchises with the Los Angeles Rams and later the Washington Redskins, a team that has since been renamed the Washington Commanders.

Devoted IndyCar fans won’t have to scramble to find “Court TV” on their cable or streaming lineups, because this contract dispute came to a swift conclusion. It was over in two months without having to go to court.

Palou gets to return to a championship-contending team, one that gave him the equipment to win the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series championship. He also gets to fulfill his dream of driving a Formula One car, even if it is in testing, but it could lead to a full-time ride one day.

Rosenqvist gets to stay at the team he loves and has shown potential to achieve even more success in 2023.

But there may be a new rivalry in the series from this point forward and it involves Chip Ganassi and Zak Brown.

Expect that feud to continue well into the future.