24/08/2023
NEWS STORY
Reports suggest that McLaren is seeking between $20m (£15.7m) and $30m (£23.5m) in damages from Alex Palou after the Spanish driver reneged on his contract for 2024.
The youngster was served the relevant documents - issued in the UK Court - two days ago, as McLaren Racing Limited and McLaren Indy, LLC began their action against Palou and his racing entity ALPA Racing USA, LLC.
Though the documents have not been made public, a source has told the IndyStar that the suits, filed as Part 7 Claims made for the process of claiming money from the defendants, seek between $20m and $30m in damages from Palou.
The costs are said to include a salary advance McLaren made to the Spaniard ahead of him joining the team in 2024, in addition to various investments the F1 team had made in his year-long programme as test and reserve driver, including private test sessions and his FP1 debut at the US Grand Prix last October.
The action comes just over a year after the legal tangle over Palou involving McLaren and Chip Ganassi racing. At that time the Spaniard rejected the American outfit for McLaren, while now he has gone the other way.
While Ganassi fought for Palou to honour his contract, this time around McLaren has clearly given up on him and simply wants financial restitution.