F1 News: McLaren CEO Addresses Alex Palou Legal Dispute - "Very Disappointing"
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has addressed the media at the Dutch Grand Prix weekend about the ongoing drama with IndyCar driver Alex Palou.
It was confirmed earlier in the week that the British team has taken legal action against the Spanish driver after the latter confirmed he would not be going ahead with the contract for 2024.
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Speaking to the media in Zandvoort, Brown explained, as quoted by :
“Alex informed us that he has no intention of honouring his contract with us in IndyCar or Formula 1. We have a contract so [this is] now in a legal process.
“We filed in the London courts last week against him - both as a person and his business entity. We’ll just let the legal proceedings carry the situation forward.
“I have no idea what’s going through his mind because I haven’t spoken with him."
Referring to Daniel Ricciardo's broken wrist which has given Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson an opportunity to race in F1, Brown continued:
“But things move fast in Formula 1. Drivers can break their wrists in an instant.
“If you want to do Formula 1, you need to hang around the hoop and see what opportunities are provided.”
Brown went on to express his disappointment in how the situation has been dealt with. He added:
“Very disappointing. We had a very good relationship.
“He hasn’t personally communicated with me about it, which is rather disappointing given all that we’ve done for him and the opportunities that we’ve provided.
“I don’t think his decision has anything to do with McLaren per se. Our relationship was very strong so very disappointed with how it’s been handled.
“On a personal level, I think our relationships with our drivers is something McLaren takes very seriously, and I think we do a good job of creating a family environment, so to be let down in that manner is pretty disappointing.”