Brown ‘didn’t make the’ Piastri signing

As IndyCar star Alex Palou and McLaren go to court, he claims Zak Brown was not involved in signing Oscar Piastri.

Palou himself was in the mix to drive for McLaren as he weighed up an IndyCar deal between the British F1 team and Chip Ganassi Racing in 2022.

Having since chosen Chip Ganassi with great success, winning the last three titles, McLaren has now sued the Spanish star for over $20 million in breaching their contract this week.

Palou has also revealed some of his dealings with McLaren, including the fate of the spare seat vacated by Daniel Ricciardo that ended up going to Piastri for 2023.

He made it clear that Brown distanced himself from the Piastri signing with it being insitaged by team manager at the time Andreas Seidl.

The timing of the revelation is telling, given it comes after Piastri appeared frustrated with the team during the Singapore Grand Prix.

“I went for dinner with Zak near McLaren Technology Centre,” said Palou. 

“Zak told me it was not his decision to hire Oscar. He said it was the decision of Andreas.

“Zak told me Piastri’s performance would be evaluated against mine for 2024. 

“Zak said that, from his point of view, my chance of getting the F1 seat was not affected by Oscar.

“However, I knew everything had changed and from that point on, I started to be more willing to stay with CGR in the future.”

When it was clear McLaren had poached Piastri from Alpine, Palou said he was shattered.

“I was very upset, worried and angry that McLaren had signed another rookie driver other than me,” he told Autosport. 

“I asked MIM (Monaco Increase Management) to speak to Zak to ask what was going on.

“On September 22 they had a conversation with Zak, and Zak had told them they needed someone who would be quick in 2023, but that this would not interfere with my chances to get into F1.”

Brown has also spoken out on the Palou situation, being clear that he did not say Palou was considered for Piastri’s seat.

“I told him what the opportunities would be in F1,” he said. 

“I never told him he would be under consideration.

“I never strung along Alex. I never told him he would be under consideration for 2023. 

“There was some optionality to join F1.”

F1 resumes in Austin next weekend.

Photo by Ferenc ISZA / AFP

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