Alpine F1 boss Otmar Szafnauer has come out and again critiqued Australian rookie Oscar Piastri who is set to join McLaren to replace Daniel Ricciardo in 2023. Szafnauer hoped for “more integrity” from the Aussie who has decided to not join Alpine after Fernando Alonso decided to move to Aston Martin next year considering the French team had supported him through his early career and invested millions of dollars in him.
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“He hasn't driven in Formula 1 yet, and my wish for Oscar was that he had a bit more integrity. He signed a piece of paper as well back in November and we’ve done everything on our end of the bargain to prepare him for Formula 1,” said Szafnauer.
"I just wish Oscar would have remembered what he signed he signed in November and what he signed up to,” Szafnauer defiantly added.
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Piastri’s case has gone to the F1 Contracts Recognition Board on Monday, but it is believed that the Australian is in the green with his contract with McLaren and is technically allowed to not join Alpine. If this is the case, Alpine will take the Australian driver to the court in the UK where it will seek compensation for all the investment it has made in him. The cost is expected to be somewhere between $5 to $10 million.
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Red Bull’s Christian Horner also said that this kind of situation with a young driver shouldn’t have happened. He added that the driver shouldn’t have felt that he could choose to drive for any other team despite all the support from Alpine. Red Bull has a legendary young driver program and Horner felt this wouldn't have happened at his team.
