Ganassi heads into this weekend’s halfway IndyCar round at Mid-Ohio holding a 1-2 in points with Palou leading Ericsson by a whopping 74 points. Team Penske's Josef Newgarden is the best non-Ganassi driver, a further seven points behind.
Palou has already equalled his win tally from his title year with CGR in 2021. Meanwhile Ericsson, the winner of the season-opener in St Petersburg, came within less than a tenth of a second of claiming back-to-back Indy 500 wins last month before losing out to Newgarden.
Yet Ganassi might lose them both for 2024 as they have very different contractual scenarios playing out.
Palou is understood to have a McLaren deal in his pocket for 2024 and sees this as his best route to Formula 1, with the added bonus of driving for its burgeoning Arrow-partnered IndyCar team, where he can wait for his opportunity in the biggest league of all.
Last year Ganassi issued a lawsuit against Palou when McLaren issued a press release claiming he’d signed for 2023. That was settled with the Spaniard staying on at CGR in IndyCar for the final year of his current contract in 2023 but also allowed for a test and reserve role with McLaren’s F1 team.
His latest test was at the Hungaroring earlier this month, alongside race driver Oscar Piastri no less, and he got to run in FP1 at COTA last year – so you can see where his ambitions clearly lie. Plus, McLaren wouldn’t be doing this if it didn’t think he was the real deal…
“It's been working so far – I love it,” he said when Autosport asked if his F1 running has been helping his development as a driver. “They are very picky about the way you drive obviously.
“They are pushing you on how to drive, which is really good in terms of driver development honestly. It's like you go there and they are teaching you how to brake.
“It's great, especially not being too familiar with the car, I'm still learning how to drive it properly. It's great for pushing myself.”
Source: Autosport