Who's Who and What's What in the Palou-Ganassi-McLaren saga

Silly season? Try insanity season.

When Alex Palou responded on Twitter Tuesday evening to Chip Ganassi Racing’s statement just hours earlier that it had retained the driver for 2023 by stating that not only was that not true, but he would be leaving CGR for McLaren next year and that CGR had entirely fabricated a quote they attributed to Palou, IndyCar was thrown into chaos.

The boulder that Palou and McLaren threw into the pond created a wave that washed not just over the American series but reached all the way into the waters of Formula One and Formula E.

With multiple organizations and drivers being involved to one degree or another, here’s a scorecard to help you follow along.

Alex Palou – When the 24-year-old won the IndyCar championship in just his second season, it appeared the Ganassi team had finally found the wingman for Scott Dixon that it had been missing since Dario Franchetti’s retirement. Palou is currently occupying one of the top seats in the series, with Ganassi having won the Indy 500 this year along with three of the past four season championships

What caused the pending breakup at this point is unknown (Palou did diplomatically add to his tweet that he had great respect for CGR), but perhaps was lured by McLaren’s involvement in Formula One. Palou had just this past September expressed that he had no interest in F1 – unless it was with Ganassi.

But Palou, like many young IndyCar drivers (especially those who come from overseas), grew up following the globetrotting series, and while he’s repeatedly claimed he wouldn’t want to make the move if he had no chance of winning, he might be willing to take a chance on McLaren’s future prospects of success.

And unlike fellow young drivers Colton Herta and Pato O’Ward, Palou’s IndyCar championship means he already has enough points in F1’s superlicense system to be eligible to enter the series immediately.

Felix Rosenqvist – In the middle of a bounce-back season for McLaren in IndyCar, Rosenqvist recently re-signed with the organization – but it was left to be determined if it would be for their IndyCar or Formula E team. Assuming Palou can get his wish and join Arrow McLaren SP in IndyCar, Rosenqvist will be likely be headed to Formula E to drive for the new McLaren entry.

However, if Palou somehow steps into a McLaren F1 ride in 2023, it's anyone's guess where Rosenqvist will wind up. And let's not forget that McLaren is supposed to be expanding to three cars in IndyCar in 2023: Pato O'Ward, Alexander Rossi (coming over from Andretti Autosport) and whomever the third driver will be (Palou? Rosenqvist? Or someone else?).

Daniel Ricciardo – Palou’s announced move to McLaren with a scheduled test in F1 means even more speculation that the Australian could be out of a job at year’s end. With McLaren now having Palou, Pato O’Ward, and Colton Herta (by agreement with Andretti Autosport) all getting turns to take a McLaren Formula One car for a spin, it certainly looks like the team is searching for a future full-time driver. Ricciardo for his part released a statement Wednesday that he intends to be with the team at least through the end of 2023.

Rinus VeeKay – Very speculative, but if CGR loses Palou, the 21-year-old Dutchman might be the most logical choice to replace him. Of course, Ganassi could also consider looking overseas (current F2 leader Felipe Drugovich currently has no connection with any F1 team to be promoted to) or at the Indy Lights series level, currently led by Linus Lundqvist.

While Team Ganassi insists that Palou is under contract through 2023, it likely will at least have to start thinking quickly about a potential backup plan. The fact that Palou’s teammate Marcus Ericsson is leading the series right now might help them feel like they have some breathing room. And speaking of . . .

Marcus Ericsson – this year’s Indianapolis 500 winner and current series leader signed what was stated to be a multi-year extension with the Ganassi team before the 2021 season. It would make sense for CGR to make sure Palou’s future with the team is on firm ground going forward. And it probably wouldn’t hurt to check in with Scott Dixon’s management team while they’re at it.

Tony Kanaan – While totally unconfirmed at this point and most likely just speculation, a Brazilian publication has reported that Ganassi is upset enough with Palou that he could dump him *this* year and replace him with Kanaan. Kanaan responded that he’s on his way to the SRX racing event in Missouri this weekend, and not Toronto (where IndyCar will be racing). Chip also has Sébastien Bourdais on his IMSA team and a working relationship with Ryan Hunter-Reay. While a move seems very unlikely at first glance, if the Palou situation becomes contentious enough in the coming days, Ganassi could decide the situation is detrimental enough to the team to be forced to take action.

Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries – McLaren has already said it doesn't plan on bringing back the two drivers who currently race for the Mercedes Formula E team that is set to become McLaren in 2023. While plans can always change, the addition of Palou to the organizational roster means there’s little chance the organization would have a change of heart.

Alexander Rossi – Rossi is merely a spectator to this drama, but as someone who has both experience racing in Formula One and being involved in recent IndyCar politics (and moving to McLaren next season), it could be interesting to hear what he has to say about this situation.

Zak Brown – The current McLaren boss is certainly making his share of both friends and enemies across the racing world, and Chip Ganassi might not think Austin Cindric’s concept for the two of them to meet in a steel cage is such a bad idea.

More realistically, the two organizations will find themselves meeting in a courtroom unless somehow a financial agreement can be reached. Brown right now has a lot of cards and a lot of places to play them, and being the only IndyCar owner who can offer drivers the prospective opportunity to move to Formula One gives him an edge in attracting talent. One thing for certain is Brown is laser focused on making McLaren one of IndyCar’s top teams.

Chip Ganassi – In the course of eight hours the team boss went from having his IndyCar ship sailing smoothly into the future to suddenly being caught right in the middle of a storm. With the team’s contention that Palou is under contract for next season, Ganassi will likely be spending a lot of time on the phone with his lawyers, making plans to compete with McLaren in the courtroom as well as on track, and we’ll have to wait to see if we get any public comment.

Even if it’s determined that CGR has the legal high ground, it would probably be advantageous to consider looking for financial compensation from McLaren rather than forcing Ganassi's team and Palou into a very awkward partnership for one more year. No matter what happens, he’ll need to find a new driver for 2024 at the latest.