Palou has won four of the last five IndyCar titles with Chip Ganassi Racing and the team owner expects he will stay.
On Tuesday, news broke out of Indianapolis that Red Bull was eyeing Palou.
The speculative report contained denials from Palou, his management, and a Chip Ganassi Racing representative.
Speaking on Wednesday, Ganassi affirmed the team’s view with a strong statement.
“I read that myself. There was nobody quoted in there,” said Ganassi.
“I talk to Palou. Palou said he’s never talked to anybody, doesn’t know anything about it.
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“I talked to his management. They know nothing about it. I know nothing about it.
“I think it’s a clickbait story. Somebody needs to brush up their investigative journalism.”
“Of course I don’t want to lose him,” he added. “Who wants to lose somebody good?
“He had an opportunity to leave and he decided to stay. I don’t know how many times I have to say that. Everybody can see that, I think, yeah.”
That “opportunity” Ganassi is referring to is when McLaren came calling. Palou backflipped on a decision to join the team and stayed with Ganassi, which led to a length legal battle.
When pushed to clarify Palou’s status, Ganassi said he had “no other expectation” than for the Spaniard be driving the #10 car in the 2026 IndyCar Series.
Ganassi was asked whether he saw Formula 1 as an imminent threat and reaffirmed his view that Palou has no interest in leaving IndyCar.
“Look, let me say this. Everybody wants a driver that everybody else wants to have,” he said.
“That means you have something that’s really valuable, okay?
“Do I think Formula 1’s the biggest threat? You know what I think the biggest threat is, the biggest threat is ourselves, each of us. Each of us is our biggest threat, okay?
“I work to create the best possible environment for our people. It’s the same for our drivers. I work to give them the best possible environment. That’s all I know how to do. It seems to be working.
“Like I said, Alex had an opportunity to leave and he didn’t. I don’t know what else to tell you. I take him at his word when he says he likes it here and he’s having a great time.”
Ganassi said the allure of Formula 1 perhaps was not as great as it used to be.
He said he thought Palou playing second fiddle to another driver wouldn’t be all that exciting.
“There are two or three coveted seats there. Outside of that, I wouldn’t want to see him go to be a number two driver anywhere,” said Ganassi.
“I don’t stop people from doing those kinds of things. Every time I get a call from a Formula 1 driver, I don’t call the press up and say, ‘I got a phone call from somebody, they want to come drive IndyCars’. We get calls all the time from Formula 1 drivers.
“They go this way, that way. I don’t think it’s as interesting a thing as it used to be, the draw one way or the other for that matter. I think they’re both very specialised. I don’t know how you go from winning the biggest race in the world to one that’s not. I don’t know.”
IndyCar concludes on September 1 at Nashville Superspeedway, where Palou will officially be crowned a four-time champion.
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