Oscar Piastri will not be driving in the Alpine cockpit in 2023, but for another team – and apparently a crowd favorite will suffer there.
According to the specialist magazine “Autosport”, the Formula 1 team McLaren wants to part with Daniel Ricciardo in the contract dispute surrounding Oscar Piastri. The traditional English team has therefore informed Ricciardo that they want to replace him with Piastri in the coming season. Official notifications were initially not available.
Ricciardo (33) still has a contract with McLaren for 2023, but the team is dissatisfied with its performance. The second regular driver, Lando Norris (22), is tied to the racing team until the end of 2025 and has clearly left his Australian teammate behind in the drivers’ standings.
In the event of a contract termination, Ricciardo is considered a candidate at Alpine. At the end of the year, the French lost Fernando Alonso (41) as the successor to Sebastian Vettel (35) to Aston Martin. This means that the second cockpit next to Esteban Ocon (25) is still free – and thus also the way for Ricciardo to continue his career in the premier class.
Alpine announced top talent Piastri (21) a few days ago as its regular driver for next year. However, the Australian contradicted this representation and is said to prefer to switch to McLaren. “Alpine F1 issued a press release without my consent late in the afternoon stating that I will be driving for them next year. This is incorrect, I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023,” Piastri wrote on Twitter. And further: “I will not drive for Alpine next year.” Alpine still sees itself in the right.