Palou hits $30 million roadblock on road to F1

Dominant Indycar driver Alex Palou’s road to Formula 1 has hit a $30 million roadblock.

The Indianapolis Star reports that McLaren, who signed to switch to the marque’s Indycar team only to renege and stay at Chip Ganassi, is now being sued by McLaren to the tune of a rumoured $20-30 million.

McLaren supremo Zak Brown said recently: "Palou received a significant payment for 2024 as well as millions of dollars for development in our Formula 1 test program.

"It now appears that our faith, commitment, investment and trust in Alex was misplaced."

Spaniard Palou, 26, has also split with his management team - Monaco Increase Management - over the dispute.

"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," the company said in a statement.

A source told the Indy Star newspaper that while court documents are not public, the lawsuits are claiming damages of up to a whopping $30m.