What is up with McLaren’s chaotic summer of Silly Season controversy?

It’s 2023 in an alternate universe, and former NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou is embarking on his third season with Chip Ganassi Racing, while Felix Rosenqvist, who had a quiet, enjoyable offseason in Sweden, returns to Arrow McLaren SP with Patricio O’Ward and are happy to introduce their newest teammate Alexander Rossi to the squad.

Over in Europe, Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso, the veteran drivers of McLaren and Alpine, respectively, get ready for another Formula 1 season and a battle to be seventh in the driver’s standings and fourth in the constructor’s championship.

And Oscar Piastri, the Australian rookie and 2021 Formula 2 champion, gets ready for his first Grand Prix with Alpine as Alonso’s teammate. Esteban Ocon has departed the organization and decided to replay his role as Mercedes’ reserve driver for a year, hoping that Lewis Hamilton, who is now completely washed up, will retire and he can take his seat in 2024.

But remember, this is an alternate reality. We live in a universe with much more chaos and drama on the motorsports Silly Season front.

Now let’s set the facts straight. Palou is still driving for Ganassi right now but is intertwined in a legal tug of war between his current team and the team he wants to join in 2023 in McLaren. On July 12, Ganassi released a statement saying Palou would return to the team next year. Less than four hours later, McLaren (not Arrow McLaren SP, but McLaren Racing) announced that the Spaniard would join the team in 2023.

Palou refuted Ganassi’s claim and said he did not authorize the quotes used in the press release. In addition, he proclaimed McLaren as the team he would be joining in 2023. Ganassi has opened a lawsuit against Palou’s management team, and his management team is countersuing Ganassi for defamation.

Palou’s attorneys say the driver informed Ganassi on June 15 that he wished to pursue an opportunity that could lead to a seat in F1. In the meantime, all indications point to Palou finishing the 2022 IndyCar season in CGR’s No. 10 Honda despite the ongoing legal mess.

In Europe, a coincidentally strange and similar circumstance is occurring with Piastri and Alpine. The French team announced that Piastri would join the team alongside Ocon shortly after Fernando Alonso said he would join Aston Martin to replace the retiring four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel. Piastri, like Palou, denied this statement and said he intends to race with McLaren’s F1 team.

So how did this happen?

Alpine was under the impression that Alonso was staying put. Piastri was, too; his management team saw that as an opportunity to search for other available seats on the grid. Ricciardo acknowledged rumors about losing his seat but ensured he was committed to racing for McLaren.

Evidently, McLaren wasn’t committed to him, though. And now Ricciardo is seeking $21 million from the team for the buy-out on his contract.

Here’s what we know at the time of publication: O’Ward and Rossi will drive for AMSP full-time in the 2023 IndyCar season. Palou or Rosenqvist probably will, too. One of them may end up at McLaren’s new Formula E team next year. Heck, maybe both of them will. We’ll have to wait until McLaren CEO Zak Brown makes a decision.

Lando Norris will stay in one of McLaren’s F1 cars, and it appears the second car’s driver will be Piastri. Ricciardo will likely want to stay in F1, and conveniently there is an opening at his former team, Alpine. It doesn’t mean he is going there for sure, but it is plausible.

What remains unclear is how many full-time entries AMSP will have next season. It will probably be three. Rosenqvist hopes he is still there, and Palou hopes he will be there. Won’t it be fun to watch social media have a meltdown when one of these men gets the boot from a seat in IndyCar?

Ricciardo finds himself at a crossroads in his career. He consistently plays second fiddle to Norris, and that’s why McLaren is looking to replace him. He’s not keen on running an entire season of IndyCar. Ovals give him the creeps, as it were, and he doesn’t have an interest in participating on them.

Who will drive for McLaren’s Formula E team? Rosenqvist has experienced success in the all-electric series, winning three races during his two-year tenure with Mahindra. It feels sensible for Brown to place him there, despite the Swede’s desire to remain in IndyCar.

McLaren has a knack for recruiting talented drivers, but things don’t always seem to pan out. And each driver associated with the team, including Colton Herta and O’Ward, who have tested F1 cars, wants to be in Grand Prix races worldwide.

Unfortunately, only two people can hold those positions at a time. McLaren has a history of excellence, but it is quickly earning a reputation for legal drama and employing the busiest public relations folks in motorsports.