Alex Palou is once again in the news with regards to his IndyCar contract amid F1 ties as Monaco Increase Management ends ties with him.
After huge dramas last year where Palou wanted to leave Chip Ganassi Racing to join McLaren in 2023, the Spaniard is once again in hot waters. The settlement was made last year where he stuck with CGR in IndyCar, but was allowed to be McLaren’s F1 reserve.
He has since undertaken several F1 tests with McLaren and was poised to join its IndyCar team in 2024. But the latest turn of events has left his own management company in a disarray where they have ended ties with him due to unprofessionalism.
As per reports, Palou was due to join McLaren in IndyCar in 2024 but he has now backtracked on the idea. This move would have opened a better road to F1 which already started with several test runs with the Woking-based team.
But his u-turn has left MIM in a bad space. “Monaco Increase Management is bitterly disappointed to learn about Alex Palou’s decision to break an existing agreement with McLaren for 2024 and beyond,” it said in a statement.
“Together, we had built a relationship that we thought went beyond any contractual obligation and culminated in winning the 2021 IndyCar crown and tracing a path to F1 opportunities. Life goes on and we wish Alex all the best for his future achievements.”
This bit of news was confirmed by Zak Brown to The Race as well. “I’m extremely disappointed that Alex Palou does not intend to honour his contractual obligations to race with us in IndyCar in 2024 and beyond,” he said. “That is all I have to say on the topic for the time being.”
Brown is left disappointed considering the investment that McLaren has already made towards Palou with regards to his IndyCar and F1 programmes. Certain reports suggests Palou to remain with CGR in 2024, while some have linked him with seats at Williams and or AlphaTauri.
The latest contractual drama comes at a time when Palou is leading the IndyCar standings with a chance to win his second title in three years. It remains to be seen if the Spaniard already has a F1 offer on table for 2024 to take such drastic steps.
MIM also presumes that Honda intervened in an attempt to keep Alex Palou, and there could be promises of F1 development with Aston Martin once Honda becomes Aston's engine supplier. But it is all just a guess because all communication has ceased.
— Jenna Fryer (@JennaFryer) August 12, 2023
Ceased since *WEDNESDAY*, MIM says, when it had a perfectly normal call with Alex discussing, among other things, his championship party in Laguna Seca.
— Jenna Fryer (@JennaFryer) August 12, 2023
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