Paddock Pulse: Palou vs McLaren rolls on, Red Bull turns the screw, and Leclerc chatter won’t die down
The F1 news cycle isn’t easing off ahead of the flyaways, and neither are the lawyers. Alex Palou’s courtroom wrangle with McLaren is churning up some eye‑catching testimony in London, Red Bull’s late‑season form has McLaren glancing nervously over their shoulders, and the driver market whisper machine is warming up again with Charles Leclerc back in the frame. Let’s unpack it.
Palou’s defence leans on Alonso line as McLaren seeks damages
The High Court case between multi‑time IndyCar champion Alex Palou and McLaren has moved from terse filings to pointed soundbites. McLaren is pursuing $20.7 million in damages after Palou walked away from a deal; Palou’s side says he was misled by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, particularly around a pathway into Formula 1.
In court, Palou’s camp argued the driver wasn’t angling for a McLaren IndyCar seat at all — citing that even Fernando Alonso, a two‑time F1 world champion and an all‑round apex predator, couldn’t win in McLaren’s IndyCar colours. The implication: if the carrot was an F1 opportunity, he bit — and then felt the stick. It’s a hard‑edged bit of paddock reality making its way into legalese: drivers go where the F1 door opens, and if you promise a hallway that turns out to be a broom closet, don’t be shocked when it ends up in front of a judge.
McLaren is steadfast in its claim. Whatever the verdict, the case is a reminder that F1’s political theatre doesn’t just play out in hospitality suites — sometimes it’s under fluorescent lights with sworn affidavits.
McLaren wary: Red Bull “in the game” again
On track, McLaren has a very different kind of fight on its hands. After a stretch where Red Bull looked mortal in certain configurations, Andrea Stella believes the team in blue has rebased. The McLaren boss suggested Red Bull may have ironed out the high‑drag and street‑track weaknesses that hamstrung them earlier — the very areas where McLaren and others felt they could pry open the title race.
And then there’s Max Verstappen, hunting a fifth straight crown and driving like he’s allergic to finishing anywhere but first or second. If Red Bull’s RB21 has recovered its downforce‑range sweet spot, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri can expect a much narrower margin for error at the remaining rounds. Those high‑downforce street circuits that once felt like neutral venues? Consider them reopened for business.
Montezemolo weighs in: “By far number one”
Luca di Montezemolo doesn’t do lukewarm takes, and the former Ferrari chief has put Verstappen at the top of the pile — “by far the number one” in F1 right now. You don’t need a spreadsheet to see why: form, speed, relentlessness. It’s not exactly a confidence boost for the rest, but it’s also the kind of challenge that can sharpen a rival squad’s edges. McLaren’s execution has been strong this year; Red Bull finding another gear turns the final stretch into a chess match at 320 km/h.
Leclerc’s future becomes a talking point (again)
Meanwhile, that gentle tapping you hear is the driver market knocking early. With the 2026 regulations looming, Verstappen-to-Mercedes rumblings have never fully left the room, and now Charles Leclerc’s camp has added a little spice. Frustration has bubbled over Ferrari’s form in patches, and Leclerc’s manager has hinted that, come the end of his deal, nothing is sacred if the Scuderia doesn’t trend upward.
Ferrari, of course, has Lewis Hamilton in red now and the pressure dial set to high. That pairing should be the stuff of tifosi poetry, but modern F1 is ruthless. If the performance arc isn’t steep enough, the market doesn’t wait. Leclerc is a franchise driver — and franchise drivers attract suitors.
Racing Bulls as a pressure cooker: Tsunoda, Lawson on the clock?
Red Bull’s driver pipeline remains as unforgiving as it is productive. Across Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls, there are four 2026 seats to fill, but only one hard constant: Verstappen leads the senior team. From there, the churn begins.
The expectation inside the paddock is that Isack Hadjar is lining up for a promotion to the senior outfit if the stars align — and if he delivers, Racing Bulls has to keep feeding the conveyor belt. Jamie Chadwick, the multi‑title winner turned pundit, put it bluntly: the junior squad exists to find and forge the next Red Bull race winner. With names like Arvid Lindblad and Alex Dunne being linked to future seats, the pressure on Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson is obvious. Both have impressed in stretches; both know the system demands upside, not just stability.
That’s the Red Bull compact in a nutshell. It builds careers at speed — and sometimes ends them just as quickly.
Big picture
So where does that leave us? McLaren is fighting a legal battle off track and a resurgent Red Bull on it. Ferrari’s star power is undeniable but faces the hard math of converting potential into points, with Leclerc’s long‑term horizon in play. And Red Bull’s ecosystem keeps tightening the screws on anyone without momentum.
It’s a classic late‑season mix: form swings, courtroom drama, and a driver market that refuses to sit quietly in the corner. Buckle up.
