Has Piastri been contracted by Alpine for 2023 without his own approval?
18:42, 02 Aug 2022
2 Comments
Alpine did not waste any time after it was announced on Monday that Fernando Alonso will leave for Aston Martin next season. The French racing team confirmed that Oscar Piastri will replace the two-time world champion in 2023. But did Piastri know before Tuesday night's announcement that he will drive for the team from Enstone?
Piastri has not yet commented on his forthcoming Formula One debut via his own social channels. Normally, this is the case and in the press release that Alpine sent, there is also no first reaction of the 21-year old driver to be found. A bit remarkable. Moreover, Alpine also did not let us know for how many years Piastri has been signed.
Alpine said in a statement about the succession of Alonso: ""In line with the commitments made by the Team to the young Australian, Oscar will be promoted to race driver and step in Fernando Alonso’s seat from next year onwards." When Piastri became the test and reserve driver at Alpine this year, he was reportedly promised a seat in Formula One in 2023 anyway, just with which team was not specified.
Does Piastri want to go to McLaren?
The plan for a long time seemed to be to lend Piastri to Williams, because Alonso seemed to be renewing his contract. Piastri himself, however, would have been aiming for a permanent switch to the McLaren team. Negotiations between those parties have already taken place and rumour has it that Piastri would prefer to work for McLaren. Alpine has now prevented that by activating something like an option in Piastri's contract.
ADVERTISEMENT
The question is whether the talent himself is aware of this clause and whether he acknowledges its existence. On Twitter, there is amazement at the way in which the Piastri news has been made known by Alpine. Legal action from Piastri's side is not excluded.
Astonishment about Alpine announcement
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Don’t miss GPblog in Google
Mark us as a preferred source and our articles will appear more often at the top of Top Stories.
Add as a preferred / source on GoogleRead more about:
latest news
Austrian Grand Prix
Overview
Friday 26.06.26
Practice 1
11:30 AM
Practice 2
03:00 PM
Saturday 27.06.26
Practice 3
10:30 AM
Qualification
02:00 PM
Sunday 28.06.26
Race
01:00 PM
Friday 26.06.26
Practice 1
Fri 11:30 AM
Practice 2
Fri 03:00 PM
Saturday 27.06.26
Practice 3
Sat 10:30 AM
Qualification
Sat 02:00 PM
Sunday 28.06.26
Race
Sun 01:00 PM
Times are in your local timezone
Rumors
Popular on GPBlog
1
Ferrari tipped to shine in Austria: 'I would expect they remain the fastest car in the corners'
1570 times read
2
Championship leader Bezzecchi banned from Czech GP after striking track marshal
1536 times read
3
F1 Today | Hamilton warns English fans, Ferrari tipped to shine in Austria as well
1409 times read
4
Moto3 Results: Malaysia's Hakim Danish claims stunning first win in Brno
1158 times read
F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 156 | |
2 | FerrariFER | 115 | |
3 | MercedesMER | 106 | |
4 | FerrariFER | 75 | |
5 | McLarenMCL | 73 | |
6 | McLarenMCL | 70 | |
7 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 55 | |
8 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 37 | |
9 | AlpineALP | 32 | |
10 | Racing BullsRCB | 28 |
Loading
