With all the spotlight on himself after announcing his departure from Ganassi, Álex Palou was eliminated early in qualifying due to mechanical problems and will start in 22nd place
Álex Palou ended the Ganassi internal climate by refuting the team and announcing his desire to drive for McLaren in 2023. There was even a possibility that the reigning IndyCar Series champion would not race this weekend in Canada, but the Spaniard was confirmed. However, things have already started to go wrong for Palou, who had mechanical problems and will start only in 22nd position for the Toronto GP.
"Obviously it wasn't ideal, we had a problem, we don't know yet what happened because we didn't get the car back. We will see what happened, but I lost power and had no way to complete the lap," explained the Spaniard.
"It's a shame, because we had a good car and the scenario was promising. But having a good pace, we can score good points tomorrow," Palou concluded.
Last Tuesday afternoon, Ganassi announced a contract renewal with the Spaniard. Hours later, the driver himself communicated on his social networks that he did not recognize the agreement, that he had not authorized the quotation marks used in the statement, and that he wished to leave the team after the 2022 season.
Minutes later, McLaren announced the signing of the 25-year-old, but without specifying in which category Álex will race next year. In addition to Indy, the British team is setting up its team in Formula E and may have a spot in Formula 1 if it chooses to terminate the contract with Australian Daniel Ricciardo. Palou has also joined the pre-race car testing program, which also includes Pato O'Ward and Colton Herta, who recently tested the MCL35M in Portimao.
Palou's betrayal reportedly angered team boss Chip Ganassi, who went after an immediate replacement for the Spaniard. Brazilian Tony Kanaan, who competed in the last two Indy 500 races with the team, was called to take over the #10, but sponsor issues led Ganassi to choose to keep Alex for the time being.
The start of the Toronto GP is scheduled for 4:20 pm EST, with full coverage by GRANDE PRÊMIO.