‘As you sow, so shall you reap’. All people experience this saying at least once in their lives. If you haven’t yet experienced it, allow the McLaren motorsport teams to give you a sneak peek into what it feels like. Like the blades of a chainsaw, the shrewd but unprofessional actions that the Woking outfit’s F1 division made in 2022 by snatching Oscar Piastri from Alpine have come back to haunt them in IndyCar. Let us have a look at some of the uncanny similarities and also the differentiating factors in the two cases.

The first or foundational case is of Piastri, Alpine, and McLaren in 2022. Alpine invested millions of dollars in giving F2 champion, Piastri all the knowledge and simplifying the intricacies of Formula 1. But to their surprise, when he was announced to replace Fernando Alonso for the 2023 season, he made a freak tweet saying that he would not be racing for the Enstone outfit. Furthermore, Zak Brown cunningly made the Australian rookie sign a contract for McLaren. On top of that, when Alpine filed a case against them with F1’s Contract Recognition Board (CRB), they dug a hole for themselves as they were found guilty and had to pay nearly $590,000 to Piastri and McLaren for a breach of trust.

Fast forward to today. In the way Piastri ditched Alpine for the McLaren F1 team, IndyCar’s Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing has done to Arrow McLaren. Though fans feel that Palou has served Brown right for his shrewd doings against Alpine, there is a big difference between the two cases.  Regardless, McLaren has reportedly filed a case against Palou & CGR as per Indystar.com. The decision made by Brown to take Palou to court looks justified considering how sudden the contract denial has been.

Piastri did not have a signed contract with Alpine. So, McLaren took advantage of that to thieve his talents. But in Palou’s case, the Spanish racer has a signed contract to race for Arrow McLaren in 2024. Moreover, Brown has even made an advance payment to him. And that payment, unlike Alpine’s investment has weight on it because Palou is bounded by a legal contract while Piastri’s was an entirely verbal agreement.

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So, by the looks of things, McLaren has done better than Alpine in how they conduct business. Because Brown ensured that Palou signs the contract with them, they probably won’t suffer the same fate as Alpine. Let’s also dive into the details of the lawsuit that the American Team Principal has filed.

Alex Palou lands in hot water as McLaren comes all guns blazing to file a lawsuit

It has been an absolute mess for Alex Palou as he is sandwiched between CGR and Arrow McLaren. Despite winning an IndyCar championship with CGR, he entered into dealings with Zak Brown and Co. for 2024. After confirming his spot with them to race alongside Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi, he nonchalantly backed out as Brown looked on in horror.

“Unfortunately, it now appears our belief, commitment, investment, and trust in Alex was misplaced, as it is not being reciprocated,” Brown said in a statement released by Arrow McLaren. “Coming out of his team dispute last fall, we were assured by Alex of his commitment to Arrow McLaren reflected in the contract he entered into with us.”

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The McLaren CEO has now filed lawsuits against Alex Palou and CGR’s parent company, ALPA Racing USA, LLC. The lawsuits are filed with Part 7 claims, saying that McLaren is suing for compensation in monetary terms.

WATCH THIS STORY | How Oscar Piastri Has Made a Scintillating Rise to the Pinnacle of Motorsport