By Alan Baldwin
LONDON (Reuters) -McLaren boss Zak Brown has dismissed as ‘ludicrous’ a suggestion he was against signing Oscar Piastri, now the Formula One championship leader, as a rookie three years ago.
Indianapolis 500 winner and four times IndyCar champion Alex Palou stated at a court hearing in London last week that Brown told him in late 2022 hiring the Australian had not been his decision.
Speaking to Reuters ahead of this weekend’s U.S. Grand Prix in Texas, where Piastri will seek to extend a 22-point lead over British teammate Lando Norris, Brown disagreed with Palou’s version.
“I’m not sure which allegation amused me more — the notion that I would not be the one making a key decision about our driver line-up, or the suggestion that I wasn’t on board with signing the hugely talented Oscar Piastri,” said Brown.
“Both allegations are clearly ludicrous – and anyone who follows our sport will see straight through them.”
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Palou, who had hoped to secure a McLaren F1 drive, told the court last week that Brown had told him the decision was made by now-departed former principal Andreas Seidl.
“Zak told me that Oscar’s performance would be evaluated against mine for the 2024 seat,” added the Spaniard.
Seidl ran the team from January 2019 to December 2022. He was previously boss of the Porsche endurance team, one of whose drivers was Piastri’s manager and compatriot Mark Webber.
Brown, who has been at reigning champions McLaren since 2016, was appointed chief executive in 2018 with overall responsibility for the business.
Palou’s headline-making comments about Piastri caused a stir in Australia, where there are lingering fears McLaren could favour British teammate Lando Norris in their close title battle.
There are six rounds, plus three Saturday sprints remaining.
The main focus is now on the drivers after McLaren wrapped up the constructors’ title, with Piastri seeking to become his country’s third Formula One champion and first since Alan Jones in 1980.
The Australian’s move to McLaren for 2023 came after a contract dispute with Renault-owned Alpine, where he had been reserve, that featured on the Netflix docu-series ‘Drive to Survive’ with Brown a protagonist.
Piastri has yet to comment on the matter but is scheduled to speak with reporters in Austin on Thursday.
Brown, who was questioned by Palou’s lawyer last week, said he saw Piastri at the weekend and the Australian had laughed at the idea his boss might not have a big say in any hiring.
“We have the absolute best driver pairing on the F1 grid in Oscar and Lando — I could not be more thrilled with their incredible performance and their sportsmanship,” said Brown.
“I’m excited for the awesome racing we’re going to see for the rest of the season.”
McLaren Racing are seeking some $20 million from Palou, in a case set to run until November, after the 28-year-old backed out of a move three years ago and stayed with the Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) IndyCar outfit.
The Spaniard has admitted breach of contract but argues he owes nothing.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Shri Navaratnam)
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