McLaren currently boasts one of the strongest driver duos in Formula 1, with Lando Norris and current World Champion Oscar Piastri. However, this scenario could have looked very different.
Piastri’s move to McLaren in 2023 followed a contract dispute with Alpine. The French racing team assumed that the Australian had secured his future with them, but the Contract Recognition Board ruled that Piastri’s contract with McLaren was valid. As a result, he made his Formula 1 debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2023.
According to former world champion Emerson Fittipaldi, McLaren was also on the verge of signing another driver at the time: four-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou. “He [Palou] was contracted by McLaren. Zak Brown wanted him for Formula 1 at all costs. It was already decided that he would join, it would not be Oscar Piastri, but Palou,” Fittipaldi explained in the Pelas Pistas podcast.
‘Palou wanted to stay in IndyCar’
Palou, who won his fourth IndyCar title with Chip Ganassi Racing last weekend, had an agreement with McLaren in 2022. According to Fittipaldi, things changed when Palou decided to continue his career in the United States. “He told me he wanted to stay with Ganassi in IndyCar, and then the McLaren opportunity for Piastri opened up again,” said Fittipaldi.
Interestingly, Palou was also involved in a legal dispute at the time, similar to Piastri. Although he had signed a contract with McLaren, he exercised an option to stay with Chip Ganassi after his championship in 2023. The interplay between these contract issues in both Formula 1 and IndyCar led to McLaren ultimately securing Piastri.
