![]() ![]() On the evidence of the past few races, it would seem so. The man that brought Oscar Piastri to Europe: ‘From his first test, you could tell he was just fast’ Has Oscar Piastri made the right decision? It's official! □ #F1 #OP81 /CFY3Z1ddrQį1 2023: Head-to-head qualifying and race stats between team-mates So, by September 2, a full month after *that* tweet and a whole lot of stress, headlines, legal issues, burnt bridges and not-so-kind words thrown his way by higher-ups at Alpine, Oscar Piastri was a Formula 1 driver. I will continue to do the rest of this year, absolutely, and I’ll continue to give it my all.”Īnd with it later transpiring that Piastri was the one to be replacing Ricciardo, Alpine were straight onto the FIA and its Contract Recognitions Board to fight for his services against McLaren.Īfter a legal wrangle between Alpine, McLaren and the FIA, the Contract Recognitions Board ruled that McLaren were the team who in fact held a valid contract with the young Aussie for the 2023 season. ![]() “We had a lot of discussions, but in the end, we mutually agreed that it was the right thing for both of us. “Obviously, we put in a lot of effort on both sides, but just hasn’t worked the way we wanted so the team’s decided to make a change for next year,” Ricciardo said. McLaren CEO Zak Brown later admitted the team had to “write a big cheque” to dispense of Ricciardo’s services early, but Piastri and Webber’s work in the background to put him in a position to be on the grid in 2023 was done long before we knew about it in public and, seemingly, long before Alpine knew as well – even though the man himself claims he told Alpine “multiple times” he was leaving them.Īnd it wasn’t for several weeks before we knew about Piastri’s whereabouts for 2023, with rumours abuzz that he could have been on the way to Williams over the course of the summer break, or maybe even taking his compatriot’s seat at McLaren.īut on August 24, McLaren allowed Ricciardo the opportunity, and dignity, to post a video on his social media channels announcing that he would be leaving the team at the end of 2022. This was initially a reserve deal but was constructed in a way that it would become a race seat once they could agree terms on an early termination of the contract of the underperforming Daniel Ricciardo. Needless to say, Alpine were not best pleased and intended to take legal action as soon as they knew what was going on, and it later transpired that a few weeks earlier on July 4, Piastri and manager Mark Webber penned a contract with McLaren to join them from 2023. How could he not be driving at Alpine? He’s their reserve driver, has been a part of their junior ranks and, based on how the 2022 season is panning out, is probably the best seat available to him for 2023.īesides, other rival teams don’t even have seats available… What happened between Oscar Piastri and McLaren? I will not be driving for Alpine next year.” This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. Within a day of Alonso confirming his departure to Aston Martin, which had already caught Alpine somewhat off-guard, they used their ready-made contingency plan and announced on August 2, 2022, that Alpine Academy driver Oscar Piastri would step up to Formula to take Alonso’s place.Īlonso has a seat, Piastri has a seat after a year on the sidelines following back-to-back F3 and F2 titles, so all is well, right?Īt 7pm BST, Twitter lit up when Piastri posted the now-infamous words: “I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. The good news from Alpine’s perspective was that they had the reigning Formula 2 champion, Oscar Piastri, ready and waiting in the wings to step up… The Oscar Piastri tweet that sent Alpine, and F1 fans, into a tailspin The first twist in the tale came shortly afterwards, when Fernando Alonso, as he often has in the past, announced a shock move from Alpine to Aston Martin. Sure enough, a few hours later, a video emerged from the four-time World Champion on his new Instagram account announcing his retirement from Formula 1 at the end of 2022, and silly season was officially underway. We should have known as soon as the famously private Sebastian Vettel joined social media that something was up. ![]()
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