Alpine should let Alonso or Ocon go if there is no place for Piastri

Oscar Piastri is being prepared by Alpine to make his debut in Formula One in 2023. However, the question is whether the French team can offer a place for the Australian. We list the options for the talented driver.

Talented Australian

At only 21 years old, Piastri is considered one of the biggest talents of the moment. The man born in Melbourne was not a multiple winner in karting, but from the moment he stepped into the formula cars he has been successful. In 2017 he made his debut in Europe in British Formula 4 and immediately finished second with six wins.

Only in 2019 was his real breakthrough and he won the Formula Renault Eurocup for R-ace GP. It was the Australian's second season in the class, but with seven wins and five poles, he showed his talent and was also included in Renault's training program, now called the Alpine Academy, in January 2020.

He did not become known to the general public until he also won the Formula 3 title as a rookie a year later. With that title in his pocket, he made the switch to Formula 2. While he won the F3 title in the last race, partly due to his closest competitor dropping out, Piastri impressed in F2. He outperformed the much more experienced Robert Shwartzman and Guanyu Zhou and took the title with six victories.

Disadvantage of the Alpine Academy

If you can present a CV like that you would have been given a chance in Formula 1 by any junior team. Mercedes did this with Pascal Wehrlein, Esteban Ocon and George Russell. Ferrari did this for Charles Leclerc, Antonio Giovinazzi and Mick Schumacher. Red Bull's examples are endless, with Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda as current examples, as well as Sebastian Vettel, Carlos Sainz, Alexander Albon and Daniel Ricciardo active for other teams.

Alpine shows off its own academy, but unlike its competitors, the French formation has not thought about the final step. Whereas Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes have ties with smaller teams to give their talents a taste of the big stuff first, Alpine does not. So a team with the ambition to compete for the title has to deal with talents that should be making their debut in the main team, but do you want to do that to the team and the talent?

For Piastri this situation is very painful. A year as a reserve driver in Formula 1 is simply not what you want. For the Australian, it is extra sour that his F2 competitor Zhou did get a seat in F1. He too was part of the Alpine Academy, but Alfa Romeo gave him the chance because of his Chinese nationality and bag of money.

No room for talents

So Piastri is still attached to Alpine and the team is letting it be known everywhere that he is being prepared for Formula 1. The question however is for which team? Esteban Ocon has a contract until 2024 with Alpine and Fernando Alonso has also indicated that he wants to remain active in F1 for a longer period. His performance is no reason for Alpine to throw him out.

Tearing up Ocon's contract or relinquishing their figurehead and frontrunner Alonso is the only way to free up space for Piastri in the French stable. If the team does not do this, then it runs the risk of losing Piastri, as he will not accept another year on the sidelines.

For him, there are plenty of hijackers on the coast. Although the talent was only picked up by Alpine's training program in 2020, more eyes will be on him after his F2 and F3 titles. Williams already managed to snatch a talent from Red Bull last year with Alexander Albon (though with a clause for a return to Red Bull) and Esteban Ocon at Alpine is also an example of how juniors can switch racing teams.

Who will pick up Piastri?

The question, however, is who can offer a place for Piastri? The Red Bull camp seems out of the question. Even if Pierre Gasly leaves AlphaTauri and Yuki Tsunoda is pushed aside, in-house drivers will be preferred. With second and fourth places in the F2 standings, Liam Lawson and Juri Vips then seem suitable replacements at Red Bull's sister team.

There also appears to be little room for movement within the Ferrari customer teams. Alfa Romeo signed a long-term deal with Valtteri Bottas, and Guanyu Zhou won't be pushed aside easily either. And if he is found to be too light, then Theo Pourchaire (active in F2), who is part of the Sauber Academy, will be looked at. Haas is in a similar situation with a long term contract for Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher who sits there on behalf of Ferrari and himself with his name and money of course also provides value to the American team.

Williams or Aston Martin

What remains are the Mercedes-affiliated teams. McLaren is still a step too high for a while, but spots may become available at Williams and Aston Martin in 2023. Alexander Albon is now the frontrunner at Williams, but Red Bull does have an option to call him up again in 2023. Should Pierre Gasly leave at AlphaTauri, the Thai might come back into the picture there.

At Williams, however, the biggest candidate for a departure seems to be Nicholas Latifi. Williams, under the new owners, wants to take the road to the top and with the performance, the Canadian has shown in the first races of 2022, and actually what he has shown in his first two F1 seasons, you can hardly argue that he fits that bill. With Albon leading the way, Williams could do very well to bring in Piastri as a teammate. Then Williams would have a duo with whom to attack the midfield/sub-top.

The other option is Aston Martin. Lance Stroll will have a seat there in 2023 as long as his father is the owner, but Sebastian Vettel has an expiring contract. Aston Martin's AMR22 could be labeled the worst car on the grid and it remains to be seen whether the four-time world champion will enjoy it for long. Piastri could be a nice replacement, but one does wonder if Aston Martin doesn't need a better leader, as Stroll certainly isn't. Nor is Stroll an ideal benchmark for Piastri, as the Canadian is not exactly considered the greatest talent or the most stable driver.

Alpine must make sacrifices

While doors can always open again during Silly Season, it is also clear that there are not numerous possibilities for Piastri. He is in a difficult position because of his ties to Alpine, and he and Alpine must do everything they can to get him to another team. Williams seems the best and most logical option for the Australian in 2023, but then it all just has to fall right.

Alpine is actually morally obliged to find a place for Piastri. The talent has done everything you can do as a junior and it would mean the bankruptcy of the Alpine Academy if he doesn't get a chance in F1 with such a CV. If Alpine can't manage to find a place with another team, then the team itself will have to make a sacrifice. Then it will have to say goodbye to Alonso or still tear up Ocon's contract. The first option seems the most logical given the age of both drivers. If it doesn't do this and Piastri doesn't get a chance in F1, then Alpine had better shut down the training.