Chip Ganassi Racing has initiated legal proceedings and is suing its IndyCar champion Alex Palou.
Ganassi announced a contract extension with Palou on the evening of July 12, only for McLaren to declare it had signed Palou hours later.
In between, Palou took to Twitter to say that he had notified Ganassi he intended to leave the team and that the quote attributed to him in its press release wasn’t his.
Ganassi is requesting that a hearing be held before the end of August to solve the matter. Palou has between 20 and 23 days to respond based on how he received the summons, with the longer time period offered if it is mailed.
There are a number of documents excluded from public viewing in the case, including the exact complaint Ganassi has against Palou, but listed are McLaren’s press release announcing Palou, McLaren’s tweet announcing Palou had joined, and two Palou tweets where he refuted the quote attributed to him the Ganassi press release and stated he had notified the team he wasn’t racing for it in 2023.
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I did not approve that press release, and I did not author or approve that quote. As I have recently informed CGR, for personal reasons, I do not intend to continue with the team after 2022.
— Alex Palou Montalbo (@AlexPalou) July 12, 2022
According to documents listed on mycase.in.gov, the case was filed on July 25. Palou and his racing entity ALPA were served summons in Indianapolis and in Spain respectively.
A Ganassi team statement read: “Alex Palou is under contract with Chip Ganassi Racing through the end of the 2023 season.
“He is a valued member of our team, and we will continue to support him in chasing wins, podiums, and IndyCar championships.
“As the result of a competing racing team improperly attempting to contract with him notwithstanding the clear terms of our contract, we are proceeding to legal process pursuant to the contract.
“Any and all inquiries on the matter will be handled by our legal counsel.”
It does not appear that Ganassi has sued McLaren directly over its approach for Palou in this specific case, although McLaren is mentioned in the case files and is requested to supply documents in the case.
This news emerges days before Palou is due to drive the #10 Ganassi car at Indianapolis for this weekend’s IndyCar road course race and continue his fight to defend his series championship from 2021.
The Race has approached the Monaco Increase Management group which manages Palou for comment.
