In the round-up: McLaren Racing and its IndyCar team have reportedly filed lawsuits against Alex Palou in British court
In brief
McLaren sues Palou over IndyCar contract payments – reports
After McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown revealed that IndyCar points leader Alex Palou intends not to honour his contract to race for McLaren’s IndyCar team for 2024, McLaren have reportedly begun legal action against the Chip Ganassi driver.
Palou sparked a dispute between Chip Ganassi and McLaren after signing a contract last year to race with McLaren. Eventually an agreement was reached for Palou to race with Ganassi for 2023 but running a test and Friday practice programme with McLaren’s F1 team.
The Indy Star now reports that McLaren are suing Palou in the United Kingdom over an advance payment for his driving services for the 2024 season. Palou holds a lead of 101 points in the IndyCar standings with three rounds remaining in the championship.
Gow to return to F1 paddock after stroke
British motorsport reporter Jennie Gow has announced she will return to the F1 paddock at the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort for the first time since surviving a stroke.
The journalist, who has covered multiple racing series from Formula 1, Formula E, Extreme E and others for TV and radio for BBC, ITV and Sky, has been absent from the F1 paddock all season while she recovered from a sudden stroke in December.
“I’m delighted – and a little nervous – to say that I will be returning to the F1 circuit for the Dutch GP,” Gow posted on social media.
“It’s been almost eight months since my stroke and I’m still not able to do all the things I could before, but IMG, BBC Radio 5Live and F1 are going to help me get back into the pit lane to see how I go.”
Button to race Petit Le Mans
Jenson Button, the 2009 F1 world champion, will compete in October’s Petit Le Mans endurance race at Road Atlanta in the IMSA sportscar championship for JDC Miller MotorSports alongside regular drivers Tijmen van der Helm and Mike Rockenfeller, who Button raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours with.
The team compete in the top class of the North America-based sportscar series. It is his latest venture into North American motorsport following his drives in the NASCAR Cup Series this season.
“The Porsche 963, the IMSA Sportscar Championship, and Road Atlanta are all brand new to me so I can’t wait to tackle all three with my teammates for the weekend,” Button said.
“I partnered with Rocky at Le Mans this year and he will be invaluable as he’s fantastic at car/team development. He is also incredibly quick, which always helps.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Alex Albon deserves a top F1 drive but, aged 27, the timing’s all wrong (Motor Sport)
‘If a Red Bull opportunity were to come his way again, he’s made no secret of his confidence of being ready for it this time around. That doesn’t mean he would expect to go in there and beat Max Verstappen but he knows he would give a far better representation of his true level this time around. Helmut Marko and Christian Horner still rate him highly and if there was a window, might they offer him a second opportunity? And if they did, should he take it?’
”The reason why I chose those two subjects – mathematics and computer science – was because I was good at them. I had no idea what I was going to transfer them into as a job, I was just simply doing things that I thought gave me scope to do a huge amount in life. I decided, about a year in, there was zero chance I’d be doing this for 30 years of my life, so I applied to all 11 teams, completely changing direction over where I was going. I got 11 rejection letters back and posted them on the wall.”
IMSA Champion Blomqvist Poised To Shift Gears into INDYCAR in 2024 (IMS)
”It’s obviously a step up in terms of career trajectory. That’s something I’m really excited about.Also, kind of coming back to my roots. It’s been almost eight, nine years since I last stepped foot properly in a single-seater series. It’s something I grew up with – the goal of obviously chasing that Formula One dream. I kind of sidestepped that for quite a while.”
Lewis Hamilton, Mae Muller and Ncuti Gatwa lead 2023 Ethnicity Awards nominations (Metro)
‘Lewis Hamilton, Mae Muller and Ncuti Gatwa were front runners on the list of nominees set to take over the Ethnicity Awards in November. The Formula 1 racing champion, 38, joined Eurovision star and singer Mae, 25, and Doctor Who’s Ncuti, 30, as leading personalities on the event’s shortlist that was released today.’
Lawson undecided on second season of Super Formula (Speedcafe)
”It depends on how the season goes. It depends on where I finish in the championship this year. To be honest, I think if I were fighting at the front, like we are currently, at the end of the season, I feel like I’ve gotten everything out of it. My goal is Formula 1.”
Oscar Piastri Meets LDShadowLady An F1xMinecraft Crossover! (McLaren via YouTube)
In one of the more unexpected crossover events of the season, Oscar Piastri races F1 23 against popular Minecraft YouTuber LDShadowLady.
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