“I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023,” he wrote, making it even clearer: “I will not be driving for Alpine next year.” But why does Piastri turn down one of the coveted spots? And why does Alpine announce the signing of a rider without having signed a contract?
The truth is: Oscar Piastri has a contract with Alpine – as a junior driver. The racing team is one of the Formula 1 teams that maintains a junior academy. With the program, they support young, up-and-coming drivers in the junior classes with the intention of retaining them in the long term and getting them into Formula 1. After Piastri won the Formula 3 championship in 2020, Alpine accepted him into the academy.
Winner in Formula 2
The young star made rapid progress – too quickly. Last year, the Australian also managed to win the championship in the Formula 2 class in his first attempt. According to the rules of the junior category, he was therefore not allowed to compete again this year. This put Alpine under pressure. A place in Formula 1 was needed. But with Esteban Ocon, the racing team had just committed one of its drivers long-term. His teammate Fernando Alonso also had a contract until the end of 2022. In order not to lose Piastri, the French made him reserve driver without further ado – a temporary solution.
It was clear that the question of Piastri’s future would arise again even after this season. Accordingly, Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer has avoided clear commitments to Fernando Alonso, whose contract expires at the end of the season, in recent weeks. The 41-year-old Spaniard was reportedly asking for a multi-year contract extension. Given the advanced age of the two-time world champion and the risk of losing Piastri to another team, it represented an unattractive deal for the team.
Vettel’s resignation gets Stein rolling
The ball finally got rolling last week when Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement at the end of the season. This freed up a cockpit for his Aston Martin team for the next season. On Monday, the British surprisingly announced: Fernando Alonso would leave Alpine and take over the cockpit from the coming season.
Perhaps frustrated by Alpine’s lack of interest in a long-term contract, the Spaniard fled, catching his current employer on the wrong foot. As team manager Otmar Szafnauer confirmed to the “autosport.com” portal, the team only found out about the departure of their driver from the press. He spoke to Alonso the day before and he assured him that he had not signed a contract with another team. “So I was a bit surprised,” Szafnauer said. He was convinced that Alonso would soon sign a one-year contract with an option for another year.