McLaren legend claims Zak Brown wanted to sign IndyCar sensation over Oscar Piastri

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McLaren have one of the strongest lineups in Formula 1 with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

It almost didn’t happen after Piastri was embroiled in a contract dispute with Alpine, in which the team thought they had secured his services for the 2023 season.

After the Contract Recognition Board ruled that Piastri’s contract with McLaren was valid after failings by Alpine management to secure him, he went on to make his F1 race debut with them at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

While it could be considered a success now that Piastri is currently leading the world championship, Zak Brown almost ended up signing another IndyCar star, according to McLaren legend Emerson Fittipaldi when speaking on the Pelas Pistas podcast.

Zak Brown wanted Alex Palou ‘no matter what’ for F1 before Oscar Piastri

Alex Palou clinched his fourth IndyCar title over the weekend in what has been a dominant display for the Spaniard in the American series.

He currently races for Chip Ganassi, but Palou was close to joining McLaren a few years ago, which would’ve yielded an opportunity in F1 before Piastri came along, according to Fittipaldi.

“He [Palou] was signed by McLaren. Zak Brown wanted him, no matter what, for F1. It was already certain that he was going to enter, it wasn’t going to be Oscar Piastri, it was going to be Palou,” said Fittipaldi.

“Then he, I don’t know what happened in the dispute, but he talked to me about how he wanted to continue with Ganassi in IndyCar, and now the McLaren opportunity was up for grabs.”

What happened to Alex Palou and McLaren in IndyCar?

At the same time that Piastri was in a contract dispute with McLaren, Palou was also in a similar situation in IndyCar.

Having signed a deal to join McLaren, Palou would go on to take up an option with Chip Ganassi Racing to extend his contract following his title success in 2023.

McLaren subsequently filed a lawsuit against Palou for breach of contract, claiming he did not honour the terms of agreeing to race for them.

Palou claimed that he was guaranteed a drive in F1 with McLaren as part of the deal, but a loss of trust on his part led him to extend with Ganassi.

F1 fans think Cadillac should sign Palou, after seeing him clinch another IndyCar title dominantly and beating McLaren’s Pato O’Ward.