Court files reveal seven-figure price tag to put a rookie in FP1 with McLaren

Court filings in the ongoing dispute between the McLaren Formula 1 team and Alex Palou have revealed a concrete number on how much it costs to put a rookie in a car during a free practice session, according to Motor Sport Magazine.

Documents referenced in the court case between the two parties show that Toyota World Endurance Championship driver Ryo Hirakawa secured a drive during FP1 of the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race weekend with McLaren for approximately $3.5million. This also included running older machinery under the ‘testing of previous cars’ rules.

This news, reported via Motorsport Week, comes as McLaren’s suit seeks roughly $20million after Palou chose to remain with Chip Ganassi Racing despite signing with the papaya-coloured team in 2022. The Spaniard confirmed that he breached the contract with the team, but argues that due to McLaren’s alleged overselling of how realistic an F1 seat would be for him as well as the expense of his FP1 session with the team, he owes the outfit nothing.

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has also received scrutiny over the alleged deletion of WhatsApp messages, which the team has strongly denied. 

As of 2025, teams must field an eligible rookie twice for each car during either free practice one or free practice two. These rookies must have no more than two F1 race starts but must also pay for the experience, according to this report. 

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Kym Illman / Getty Images

“When testing with McLaren, Zak told me he believed we could make it happen, and that he would give me all the preparation I needed to get to F1,” the Indy 500 winner said. “At the time I thought he was genuine.”

According to the driver, it was then-team principal Andreas Seidl’s decision to sign Oscar Piastri. 

“Zak told me Piastri’s performance would be evaluated against mine for 2024. Zak said that, from his point of view, my chance of getting the F1 seat was not affected by Oscar.

“However, I knew everything had changed. From that point on, I started to be more willing to stay with CGR in the future.”

Brown denied telling Palou he was assured a seat in the championship.

“I told him what the opportunities would be in F1. I never told him he would be under consideration.”

Photos from United States GP – Thursday

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