Audi F1 linked with shock F1 2025 move for IndyCar driver amid McLaren lawsuit

Reigning IndyCar champion and former McLaren tester Alex Palou could make a surprise switch to Formula 1 in 2025 with the Audi F1 operation, multiple reports have claimed.

Audi, who will take over the existing Sauber team in 2026, has been forced to consider alternatives to partner Nico Hulkenberg for the F1 2025 season after missing out on top target Carlos Sainz to Williams.

Former McLaren man Alex Palou on Audi F1 radar?

Sainz’s decision to join Williams came as a huge blow to Audi after number-two target Esteban Ocon also overlooked the German manufacturer to move from Alpine to Ferrari customers Haas for next season.

Audi has announced significant high-level management changes over recent weeks, with former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto hired to the dual role of chief operating and chief technical officer.

Binotto was appointed as a replacement for former McLaren boss Andreas Seidl, who was dismissed along with Audi chairman Oliver Hoffmann following persistent rumours of a power struggle between the pair.

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Following Binotto’s arrival came the news that Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley will take up the position of Audi F1 team principal, with the 57-year-old to begin his new role “by July 2025 at the latest.”

The changes to Audi’s hierarchy could have a knock-on effect on the profile of driver the German manufacturer is targeting to partner Hulkenberg, who became the first driver signing of the Audi F1 project in April when he agreed a multi-year contract from F1 2025.

And separate reports by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport and Swiss-German outlet Blick have listed IndyCar champion Palou as a potential option for the Hinwil-based team.

Palou has established himself as one of the finest drivers outside F1, with the Spaniard crowned IndyCar champion in 2021 and 2023.

The 27-year-old is on course to secure a third crown in the American-based single-seater category in 2024 and currently leads the standings by 49 points ahead of Will Power, with three victories so far this season.

Palou is no stranger to the F1 scene, having previously being affiliated to the McLaren team in 2022/23.

He participated in the first free practice session at the 2022 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, where he impressed by stepping into eight-time race winner Daniel Ricciardo’s car.

Having been named as the team’s reserve driver for the F1 2023 season, Palou split with the team in controversial circumstances after he allegedly reneged on a deal to join McLaren’s IndyCar operation despite signing a contract, opting instead to remain with Chip Ganassi Racing.

McLaren are seeking $30million in damages from Palou.

Speaking in January, Palou hinted that his Formula 1 ambitions were likely to be over, claiming “there were no signs that anything was going to open for me in F1.”

He suggested that an injury to one of McLaren’s race drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, represented his only chance of making the switch from IndyCar, telling Associated Press : “I am too old to wait and see if someone gets hurt and that is how I can get my chance.

“Pato [O’Ward, McLaren’s F1 2024 reserve driver and fellow IndyCar star] can wait for someone to get hurt.”

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