McLaren’s ongoing lawsuit against Alex Palou over his breach of contract related to driving services in IndyCar and F1 has been amended to include more damages than initially claimed.
In court documents reviewed and analyzed by The IndyStar, McLaren outlined the changes to its claim against the now two-time IndyCar champion.
The lawsuit against Palou, who stepped away from a signed deal with McLaren in order to continue driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, now aims to recover $31.5 million, up from the initial $22 million claim.
Part of the updated figure comes from recalculating the amount of money lost renegotiating a sponsorship deal with NTT, which was originally expecting to be attached to a championship-winning driver.
McLaren states that sponsorship change alone cost the team nearly $8 million, which is over $1 million more than the initial estimate.
The team also states that a new deal with its other IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward was negotiated, and was a direct result of Palou turning down his contract with McLaren due to the team needing to secure a star driver for a longer term.
O’Ward is said to have been given a two-year extension to his deal, worth upwards of $8 million, and those costs were included in the final tally as well.
Other changes and adjustments were made to the various dollar figures included in the lawsuit, which resulted in the claim amount increasing over 40% from the initial calculation six months prior.
Palou’s lawyers have disputed the validity of McLaren’s claims, specifically calling out the speculative nature of some of the lost revenue sources.
The battle continues to play out in the UK courts system, even as the 2024 racing season is set to get underway in the coming week.
Alex Palou will defend his second IndyCar title starting March 10, a championship he won with Chip Ganassi Racing after making amends with the team over an earlier attempt to join McLaren a year earlier.
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