A drama ensued in the 2023 Formula 1 transfer market. Alpine announced that Oscar Piastri would be one of their drivers next season. But a few hours later, the driver issued a rebuttal!
“I understand that, without my consent, Alpine F1 has issued a statement that I will be racing for them next year. That is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be racing for them next year,” Piastri said in a tweet.
Piastri’s rebuttal came less than two hours since Alpine announced the new driver line-up for next season. Previously, the French manufacturer said he would partner with Esteban Ocon, replacing Fernando Alonso who moved to Aston Martin.
This situation caused a stir and the public questioned what Alpine’s next move would be, and what the future of Piastri would be. One thing is for sure, one Alpine seat is currently empty.
Motorsport reports that Piastri issued a rebuttal as it was in negotiations with McLaren. The Australian rider is said to be replacing Daniel Ricciardo, whose performance was not as good as last season.
However, the situation is very complicated because Ricciardo, who is also from Australia, is under contract until 2023, and can only be terminated if the driver wishes to do so.
Possibly, McLaren will apply for a long-term contract to Piastri to ‘pressure’ Ricciardo, so he decided to move. It is still awaited whether Piastri will join McLaren or not, and what will happen to Ricciardo. McLaren has not issued any comment regarding this.
There are reports that Alpine are obliged to guarantee Piastri, who was Formula 2 champion last year, that he will race in F1 in 2023 before 31 July. However, until the time limit passed, Alpine never gave an answer, so Piastri ‘moved on his own’.
Piastri himself is a driver who graduated from the Alpine academy and has served as their test driver in F1 this season.
(adp/raw)
