Where Is Alex Palou In 2023?

The only thing that is clear in the Alex Palou contract situation is that the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series champion has his sights on Formula One in the near future.

In fact, Palou’s agent, Salvatore Gandolfo, the CEO and Founder of Monaco Increase Management (MOM), issued this statement late Friday, July 15:

“We’ve been aware of Alex’s potential as a driver long before he came into the limelight. Together, we’ve walked our path to success in three continents.

“Seeing him become a part of the McLaren racing family is another big step forward: this deal opens a window on the Formula One world, which I think is every driver’s ambition and has always been a primary goal for our management to fulfill.

“I wish to thank Zak Brown (McLaren CEO) and McLaren for making this real and I always want to express my gratitude to CGR for helping Alex on his way to Indycar (sic) success.”

When IndyCar team owner Chip Ganassi arrived in the paddock on Friday morning for the Honda Indy Toronto, he remained adamant that he has a contract for Palou to drive for his team in 2023. The owner exercised his option for the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series champion to return to the No. 10 NTT Data Honda next season.

When Palou met with the media a few hours later, he said he was happy to finish the season with Ganassi’s team but offered little more involving a contract he signed with McLaren for 2023.

When Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward spoke to the media on Friday, he said Palou may not be driving in IndyCar next year.

After finishing third in Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto, Arrow McLaren SP driver Felix Rosenqvist – another driver who signed a contract with McLaren in 2023 – said Palou may not run anywhere next season. That it’s a situation that could legally keep him out of racing for a year.

“At the moment it doesn’t sound like he’s going to race at all,” Rosenqvist said. “It’s up to lawyers and stuff.

“Honestly, it’s not my business at all. I think honestly it hasn’t really changed anything. This whole deal went down months ago. I didn’t know all the details of it that I know now, but nothing has actually changed.”

That’s the latest involving one of the most confusing contract cases in recent IndyCar history. Instead of getting clarity on the issue, it appears this situation won’t be determined without legal intervention.

It’s a multi-layered controversy that affects more than just Palou, Ganassi and McLaren.

Here’s what is at stake.

To Ganassi, a contract is a contract, and he plans on enforcing what is in the contract. Palou is a top young talent in IndyCar and despite all of the noise that began with last Tuesday’s shocking announcements from both CGI and McLaren, he remains a challenger for the 2022 IndyCar title.

To Palou, moving to McLaren means an increase in salary and a possible entry into the McLaren Formula One team. He is promised a Formula One test as part of the deal.

To Rosenqvist, if Palou is allowed to join McLaren and goes to Formula One or even a season in Formula E, then the driver from Sweden could be back in Arrow McLaren SP’s Indy car. If Palou ends up at Arrow McLaren SP, then Rosenqvist would be on his way back to Formula E.

By the time the weekend ended, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon scored his 52^nd IndyCar victory, tying him with the legendary Mario Andretti for second on IndyCar’s all-time wins list. Only AJ Foyt has more with 67.

Rosenqvist had his best finish of the season in third.

Rosenqvist is hopeful his performance will convince team principal Zak Brown of keeping him in IndyCar.

“I think if Zak was sure I was going to Formula E, he would have already said it,” Rosenqvist said. “I’m going to take that chance. If there’s a chance for me to be here next year, I’m going to try to prove I can do that.”

Palou, who had engine issues in qualifications and started 22^nd, showed why he is in such high demand by racing his way to sixth place.

Dixon has raced for Ganassi since 2002. Rosenqvist called him a “role model” for other drivers in the series. That is why Dixon’s words have meaning on this issue involving his teammate and his racing team.

“For sure, there is some awkwardness,” Dixon said Friday. “If you were going to have an example of how not to go about things, this is 100 percent how you would do it.

“It doesn’t impact us as a team as far as the goals, it’s to come here and win, no matter which driver does it.

“The job is normal. Other than the noise, it’s a full weekend.

“For me, honesty is key. Loyalty as well. It’s very easy in this community to change how you are looked upon quite quickly.

“Personal view from myself and how I would do this, I wouldn’t have done it this way.”

Dixon doesn’t know the details of Palou’s dueling contracts, but said it sounds “pretty complicated.”

“I don’t know where it really goes,” Ganassi said. “Honestly, all of my deals with Chip have been really straightforward. You sit down, have a chat, look at what everybody is looking at doing. Even when I’ve had options, I’ve gone to him and said, ‘these are my options, what should we do?’

“Of course, you have discussions that don’t go well. My first discussion with Chip didn’t go the way I thought it would go, but I’ve respected how black and white the operation has always been with me.”

O’Ward offered his interesting viewpoint on a potential IndyCar teammate in 2023.

“I actually don’t know if he will be joining us in IndyCar,” O’Ward said of Palou. “That’s a Zak Brown question. I really have no idea what is going to happen. I really hope Felix Rosenqvist stays.

“Crazy week, yes.

“I was at dinner with Felix on Tuesday night. We found out together. I called and asked what was going on? I called Zak Brown, the guy that has all the answers. He’s the one with all the answers. We’re all floating pieces.”

O’Ward is a floating piece because he also has dreams of racing in Formula One. He tested the McLaren F1 car at Abu-Dhabi last November and has been promised another test by Brown in the future.

Last week, McLaren tested Colton Herta of Andretti Autosport in as part of its Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) program in Portugal. Brown is helping Herta get points for his super license for a possible F1 career if team owner Michael Andretti is able to join Formula One.

“Zak Brown is the only one that has that amount of power to do that,” O’Ward said. “Zak has a lot of say in the F1 team and makes a lot of decisions for IndyCar, F1, Extreme E, Formula E. Here is a guy who has an in, everywhere. It can get emotional from a driver’s standpoint, because if you are with another team, that’s not an opportunity and then this comes around.”

O’Ward can’t speak for Palou, but he certainly understands what has led him to this situation:

Chasing a Formula One dream.

“You’ve been dreaming of this your whole life,” O’Ward said. “What at you going to do?

“If there is a possibility of getting to that one extra step that will make your dream fulfilled forever and you are dumb enough, who is not going to take that?

“I know a lot of people are like, ‘Well, I know a lot of people that don’t want to go to F1.’ Trust me, everyone is lying if they say that and don’t take the opportunity because it is Formula One.”

Here are two more points to consider:

If Palou gets the F1 ride and O’Ward doesn’t, O’Ward will not be happy.

If O’Ward gets the F1 ride at McLaren and Palou doesn’t, then it’s Palou who is unhappy.

And if Herta somehow ends up in a McLaren F1 car and neither Palou or O’Ward get it, both will be upset.

“Or maybe none of us get chosen and they all pick someone else,” O’Ward said Friday. “We’ve got Toronto this weekend, Iowa and then the remainder of the IndyCar season. Everything else has to fall into place. Nobody here in Toronto can dictate what’s going to happen.

“Zak Brown will move which way he wants. That’s the situation we are all in. We have to perform and have fun.”

If Palou is assigned to Arrow McLaren SP’s IndyCar program next season, Brown would have the finishing piece of a team featuring some of the top young talent in the series.

He would have young drivers O’Ward, and Palou combined with veteran Alexander Rossi, who still has incredible raw talent and is ready to reboot his career after three disappointing seasons at Andretti Autosport.

“I think it would be fantastic to have him (Palou) on the team,” O’Ward said. “Both him and Rossi would bring a completely new feeling because our car is different than every other car on the grid. We’ve not been perfect everywhere, but we are pretty sporty.

“Alex knows Ganassi and then Rossi knows Andretti, so they are two very different guys that have driven two very different cars coming to our car. I think it would be a huge advantage to know where we are at.

“The biggest thing is knowledge of another top team and extracting where we are weak and what we need to work on. The more information, the better.”

Despite the acrimony, Palou proved over the weekend, he can shut out the noise and perform for Chip Ganassi Racing through the remainder of the season.

“I think we are all committed to winning the championship,” Palou said. “It’s an amazing opportunity. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Chip personally and for the team. We will do the best we can on the race track.

“We are working with professionals, not people that aren’t professional. The team is working super good with me, and everybody is supported to winning this championship together.

“I’m super happy where I am and committed to winning this championship since race one,” he said. “I’m happy with my team, my crew, my teammates, and everything. Nothing has changed, not the money. It’s this championship we want to win.”

If he is so happy and it’s “not about the money,” then why does Palou want to leave?

When pressed on the McLaren situation, Palou said he has nothing else to add to what he said already.

“I’m not going to tell more about what I said already,” Palou said. “We are fighting for a championship together and going to try to do the best we can to win it.”

Palou said he has “no idea” how the contract situation will be resolved.

“I know that Chip Ganassi and everybody around me are all professionals and we want to win,” Palou said. “I’m not going to say we are going to have a beer and solve it, but I hope it ends up that way.

“I have nothing else to say,” Palou concluded. “I’m not going to comment on the future.”

Again, this situation is as multi-layered as an onion. But like an onion, the more layers that are pealed back, the stronger it becomes.