'Piastri makes early switch from Alpine to McLaren'

Alpine has decided to let Oscar Piastri leave for McLaren earlier, reports Motorsport.com. Initially, the French formation was not positive about giving their rival a head start towards next year, but in the end the two parties reportedly reached an agreement anyway.

While Alpine hoped Piastri could succeed the departed Fernando Alonso, the Australian decided to replace his compatriot Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren. Since then, the two sides have certainly not had a good relationship.

Nevertheless, Piastri was still a reserve driver on behalf of Alpine, which meant he could not yet do any work for his new team. Behind the scenes, however, Alpine and Piastri decided to talk to each other to explore the possibility of an earlier departure.

That appeared to be the case last week, as the driver was spotted at Paul Ricard racing last year's McLaren at the circuit. According to the medium, McLaren only wants to confirm that this drive took place, but does not otherwise discuss the arrangements with Alpine. Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer makes it clear that Piastri is free to go after the current season.