Piastri: "That's why I felt McLaren was the best choice.

“The CRB ruling has confirmed I didn’t have a contract for the 2023 season [with Alpine],” he told Formula1.com. And that cleared the way for the young Australian to accept McLaren 's offer. "McLaren were very straightforward and very keen and enthusiastic to have me."

Piastri's confidence in Alpine declined when the French team openly said it would like to continue with Fernando Alonso for one, maybe two years. While Piastri respected that, it left him uncertain about his own future. If Alonso stayed there, there was clearly no room for him and the seat next to Esteban Ocon was what he had hoped for. According to his management, he did not have a contract for 2023 with Alpine so he decided to look around.

Confusion and lack of clarity

As well as Alpine's statement, negotiations were not going smoothly and staying was no longer his best option, he says: “The lack of clarity around my future, and ultimately a breakdown in trust, I felt the very attractive offer of McLaren and the positive dealings with them thus far were all reasons why I felt McLaren was where I was best off for the future.”

Who will fill the seat at Alpine in 2023 is not yet known. Piastri will do sim work for Alpine at least this weekend, team boss Szafnauer said at the team bosses' press conference this morning to the press in attendance, including GPBlog.com.