Zak Brown Calls Palou Verdict “Entirely Appropriate”

Formula 1, Sportrik Media - McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has described the UK High Court’s verdict in the contract dispute with Alex Palou as “entirely appropriate”, following the conclusion of a high-profile legal case spanning Formula 1 and IndyCar.

The dispute centred on Palou’s breach of contract in 2023, when the Spanish driver withdrew from an agreement to race for McLaren in IndyCar. Palou took that decision after concluding he would not receive a Formula 1 race seat for 2024, which he believed had been promised during discussions with Brown.

Brown has consistently rejected that claim, stating Palou was never guaranteed a Formula 1 race seat. McLaren’s position was that Palou had been informed only that such an opportunity was a possibility, while he participated in Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) running and selected FP1 sessions, without any contractual commitment to promotion.

The disagreement ultimately led McLaren to pursue damages of close to $20 million in London’s High Court. The trial took place in October 2025 and included testimony from both Palou and Brown, with the court examining the commercial and operational consequences of Palou’s decision to walk away from the agreement.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Picken dismissed McLaren’s claims relating to losses connected to its Formula 1 programme. However, the court upheld McLaren’s case in respect of IndyCar-related losses, awarding a total of $10,194,844 in compensation.

That figure covers driver salary payments, lost IndyCar earnings, and specified sponsor-related losses. A further sponsor claim, valued between $2 million and $2.5 million, remains to be decided, which could raise the overall payout to approximately $12.6 million—more than half of the amount originally sought by McLaren.

Reacting to the judgment, Brown issued a formal statement welcoming the outcome and reaffirming McLaren’s stance throughout the proceedings.

“This is an entirely appropriate result for McLaren Racing,” Brown said.

He stressed that the ruling validated McLaren’s handling of the contractual relationship and confirmed that the team had met all of its obligations.

“As the ruling shows, we clearly demonstrated that we fulfilled every single contractual obligation towards Alex and fully honoured what had been agreed.”

Brown also highlighted the court’s recognition of the wider impact Palou’s breach had on McLaren’s business operations.

“We thank the court for recognising the very significant commercial impact and disruption our business suffered as a result of Alex’s breach of contract with the team.”

The verdict brings legal clarity to a case that has been closely followed across both Formula 1 and IndyCar. For McLaren, the outcome reinforces the enforceability of its driver contracts and closes a prolonged legal chapter as the team refocuses on its competitive programmes heading into the next phase of the Formula 1 season.