Dropped by its young driver, the French team intends to obtain financial compensation.
After the announcement of Fernando Alonso’s departure for Aston Martin at the end of the year and Oscar Piastri’s refusal to replace him, Alpine finds itself in a very uncomfortable position for the 2023 season. The French team, which had communicated publicly on the replacement of the Spaniard by the Australian prodigy, intends to assert its rights on the contract which bound it to the latter.
«NWe are over 90% sure we will go to the High Court, that’s what we will do.”told Reuters Otmar Szafnauer, the director of Alpine. “If the CRB (the contract recognition authority of the FIA) says ‘your license is only valid at Alpine’, and he (Piastri) says ‘that’s great but I won’t be driving never for them, i’m just going to sit for a year” then you have to go to the High Court for redress’continues the manager.
Read alsoFormula 1: Piastri would have signed a pre-contract with McLaren several weeks ago
Szafnauer and Alpine will claim compensation corresponding in particular to the costs incurred to prepare Piastri for Formula 1 (private tests, dedicated engineers and mechanics, travel and accommodation). “We have not yet made the accounts to see all that we have spent. We’ll have to if we go to the High Court“says Szafnauer.
According to Alpine, Oscar Piastri would have signed an agreement last November to mark his debut in Formula 1 in 2023 in the bosom of the tricolor. This agreement included the possibility of spending a season in another team in the form of a loan. Courted by McLaren, the young Australian driver believes for his part that he is in his right to refuse to drive for Alpine next year.
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