TORONTO – Alex Palou participated in Friday’s IndyCar Media Bullpen for Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto and wanted to talk about the James Webb Space Telescope photos instead of his confusing contract situation.
“There were some images from the new telescope I saw that was amazing,” Palou said. “I’m a lot into this telescope stuff and the out of Earth and it was amazing.
“Super fun.”
What hasn’t been “super fun” is the major controversy that erupted on a tumultuous Tuesday when in a matter of hours, Chip Ganassi Racing and McLaren publicly announced Palou was their driver in 2023.
Palou disputed his own comment that was used in the Ganassi release, saying he had never said or authorized that, and he was leaving Ganassi at the end of the season “for personal reasons.”
Ganassi said he had an option year on Palou, and he was invoking that option for 2023.
A few hours later, McLaren announced it had signed Palou to a “racing series to be named later” in 2023.
Friday’s bullpen session was the first time for Palou to meet the media since the tumult on Tuesday.
“It’s been a hot topic for sure and it’s been a busy week, but at the end of the day we are here in Toronto, my first time in Canada, a great city and a great track, and we are here to win,” Palou vowed. “We have a championship to win, and that number 10 car was great at Mid-Ohio.
“We are going to try to do our best. There is some noise going around, but it’s not going to stop us to do the best I can on the track.”
Palou said there was no doubt he would be in the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda for Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto. Despite the acrimony, Palou is fourth in the championship, just 35 points out of the lead. He is also the defending NTT IndyCar Series champion for Ganassi.
“I think we are all committed to winning the championship,” Palou said. “It’s an amazing opportunity. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Chip personally and for the team. We will do the best we can on the race track.
“We are working with professionals, not people that aren’t professional. The team is working super good with me, and everybody is supported to winning this championship together.”
Palou said he has no doubt that he will be in the No. 10 car for the remainder of the season.
“As long as we keep performing, we should be all right,” the driver from Spain said.
Palou will compete in Sunday’s race at Toronto for the first time in his career after the Canadian race was halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. He likes the track and believes he can race his way and pass the competition in the race.
Palou said he is still “super happy” where he is and committed to winning the championship, despite the messy contract situation.
“I’m happy with my team, my crew, my teammates, and everything,” Palou said. “Nothing has changed, not the money. It’s this championship we want to win.”
When asked if he had spoken to Ganassi, Palou said yes.
“It was all good,” Palou said.
When pressed on the McLaren situation, Palou said “I’m not going to tell more about what I said already. We are fighting for a championship together and going to try to do the best we can to win it.”
Palou said he has “no idea” how the contract situation will be resolved.
“I know that Chip Ganassi and everybody around me are all professionals and we want to win,” Palou said. “I’m not going to say we are going to have a beer and solve it, but I hope it ends up that way.”
The questions will be continued to be asked until there is a resolution. But Palou has become the center of attention in IndyCar and the 25-year-old driver from Spain still has the smile on his face and the determination to win a championship.
“I don’t think anybody likes to be in discussions or in trouble or not thinking the same way,” Palou said. “Everybody likes to have an easy life. This is not intentional.
“As I said, Chip Ganassi Racing and myself and the people around me are all professional and want the same thing. We’ll make it work.
“I have full trust in the people around me.”
He vows he will continue to battle for the championship as the contract situation between Palou, Ganassi and McLaren fight it out over 2023.
“I’m a warrior,” he said. “This is not going to stop me. Winning the championship would help everybody. Winning always helps for anybody. That would be the best scenario possible for anybody. Winning makes everybody happy. I think everybody would be happy. Who wouldn’t?”
For the moment, there are at least two team owners that are unhappy over the contract situation and how it was handled. Ultimately, that will be settled legally.
But in the meantime, the questions are not going away.
“I have nothing else to say,” Palou said. “I’m not going to comment on the future.”