AUTHOR: ABI MCINTOSH
On the 28th of July, 2022, Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel took to Instagram for the first time in his life to announce he would be retiring at the end of the Formula 1 season. This sent the world of motorsport into a frenzy – everyone was devastated. The four-time world champion had been in the sport for as long as many could remember, and was a staple of single-seater racing. But alas, his priorities have changed and he wishes to spend more time with his young children and wife – ridiculous, right?
This caused a chain reaction that saw Alpine’s Fernando Alonso announced as one of Aston Martin’s 2023 drivers, catching his current team unawares; they were more than likely wanting to sign him for the oncoming seasons in a multi-year contract (they found out he was moving through Aston Martin’s announcement – talk about blindsided!). In what was seemingly a desperate attempt to regain control, Alpine announced that the 2021 Formula 2 champion and their reserve driver Oscar Piastri, would be filling Alonso’s seat.
“2023 driver line-up confirmed: Esteban Ocon🤝 Oscar Piastri
After four years as part of the Renault and Alpine family, Reserve Driver Oscar Piasri is promoted to a race seat alongside Esteban Ocon starting from 2023.”
@AlpineF1Team via Twitter.
But wait! Oscar had something to say about this, and it was not positive.
“I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.”
@OscarPiastri via Twitter.
But what went so wrong in their communication? Well, it seems that Alpine jumped the gun slightly on their announcement, tweeting it during nighttime in Australia and before an agreement was reached. Imagine waking up to that! Either way, Piastri and his manager, former F1 driver Mark Webber (also a fellow Aussie) were quick to beat the allegations.
This caused a major controversy, and prompted Alpine to propose taking him to court, after it was discovered Piastri had also been in talks with McLaren, despite their seats both being filled. It was later confirmed that McLaren had bought out fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo for $21 million, as he was contracted until 2023. Alpine didn’t believe Piastri’s McLaren contract was legal, and thus the matter was taken to the Contract Recognition Board.
On the 2nd of September, the board made their decision.
“A Tribunal appointed by the Contract Recognition Board held a meeting on 29 August 2022 when counsel for Alpine Racing Limited, McLaren Racing Limited and Mr Oscar Piastri were heard. The Tribunal has issued a Unanimous Decision that the only Contract to be recognised by the Board is the Contract between McLaren Racing Limited and Mr Piastri dated 4 July 2022. Mr Piastri is entitled to drive for McLaren Racing Limited for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The members of the Tribunal comprised Ian Hunter QC presiding, Prof. Klaus Peter Berger, Matthieu de Boisseson and Stefano Azzali.” – Statement from the Contract Recognition Board.
Following the decision, McLaren Racing announced that Piastri would complete their driver lineup for 2023, alongside Lando Norris.
“We have signed 2021 F2 champion @OscarPiastri.
Oscar joins Lando to form our exciting F1 driver line-up from 2023. 👊”
@McLarenF1 via Twitter.
This prompted an onslaught of criticism from Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer, claiming the Australian lacked loyalty. He has since slammed Piastri in the media, claiming they’d funded most of his career and supported him for years (the support was real, but Webber confirmed Piastri’s career was mainly funded by family and sponsors, with Alpine having nowhere near the influence they claimed). On numerous occasions, Szafnauer has said he felt that Oscar had betrayed them, calling him a traitor for not honouring their agreement as he is part of their junior driver academy.
Unfortunately for Otmar, their contract was full of holes even if Piastri felt loyalty to a team that seemingly didn’t want him. Alpine was allegedly planning to loan him to Williams Racing until 2024, when he may have had a chance to drive for them after Alonso retired (if he ever does). And sure, McLaren might not be winning the constructors anytime soon, but for someone desperate for an F1 seat, they rank a lot higher than a Williams seat and the possibility of an Alpine one down the road. Szafnauer has since said that George Russell, a previous F2 champion and Williams driver, believed he benefitted from his three years at Williams; Szafnauer omitted, however, how Russell said that three years was too long.
“Like George [Russell] before him, who went to Williams before returning to Mercedes, like Charles [Leclerc] who went to Sauber before returning to Ferrari, like Max [Verstappen] and like Sebastian [Vettel], who both raced for Toro Rosso before driving for Red Bull, they all did a ‘junior’ team before moving up. I’m a bit surprised Oscar thought that first, he was better than Williams.”
Otmar Szafnauer, via https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-autosport/1669106/alpine-oscar-piastri-max-verstappen-george-russell-mclaren-f1-news
Another difference is that these teams are all feeders for their main F1 seats – Alpine can’t really be compared to that of Redbull or Ferrari. It seems very odd that Szafnauer is so vocal about the situation when we have heard very little from McLaren CEO Zak Brown, or their Team Principal Andreas Seidl. All together, Szafnauer seems to be very hurt by Piastri’s presumed ‘betrayal’, but failed to take the necessary steps to secure and support him as anything more than a benchwarmer.
Ultimately, Oscar Piastri will be on the grid next year despite the apparent controversy, and a very long and tense legal battle. His decision will most likely follow him throughout his career, as there is much debate about whether it was the right one. In my opinion, Piastri was completely valid in his move – if a team isn’t supporting you, it’s time to look elsewhere; hopefully, the move works out for him!
External sources used: https://www.formula1.com/en.html