The Oscar Piastri Drama

Formula 1 fans were relieved when Alpine finally announced the signing of Oscar Piastri as their driver for next season. He’s a fast driver who has won the championships in F2 and F3. But the joy was short-lived. A few hours after alpine announced him, he released his own statement saying that alpine made the decision without his permission, and he won’t be driving for them next year!

So the burning question is, Why would Oscar Piastri release that statement, and how did a formula 1 team come to this stage?
That’s what we’re going to analyze at Fervent Motorsports.

So to understand this story a bit better, I’m going to have to explain who the key players are.

Sebastian Vettel – 4x F1 world champion, Aston martin F1 driver this season, retires next season.
Fernando Alonso – 2x F1 World Champion, Alpine F1 driver this season, Aston Martin driver next season.
Otmar Szafnauer – Alpine F1 team principal
Lawrence Stroll – Aston Martin F1 Team owner
Oscar Piastri – Alpine reserve F1 driver this season, 2021 F2 Champion & 2020 F3 champion,
Mark Webber – Former F1 Racer, Oscar Piastri’s Manager
Daniel Riccardo – McLaren F1 Driver this season
Zak Brown – McLaren F1 Team Boss
Esteban Ocon – Alpine F1 driver
Lando Norris – McLaren F1 Driver

Back story

So last year, Oscar Piastri won the F2 championship. Under FIA rules, the reigning Formula Two champion is not permitted to remain in the series for the following season. This meant that Piastri was left without a series to race in after he didn’t get a seat in Formula 1. But that’s normal, very few drivers make it to F1 in the very next year after winning Formula 2. But the Alpine team gave him the role of a Reserve driver. The reserve role meant that he could race if either of the Alpine drivers were unable to be it due to sickness, or injury.

Throughout the season, there were calls for Fernando Alonso to retire and give way to Piastri to race in F1 next season. But Alonso had another year left in his contract with Alpine, and he looked determined to keep racing in Formula 1.

Also Mclaren. They have a current driver pairing of Lando Norris and Daniel Riccardo. But this season there was vocal and public criticism of Riccardo from literally all sides. His own team boss Zak Brown said that there were mechanisms in Riccardo’s contract to allow Mclaren to terminate it early. And Mclaren was reportedly interested in the F2 champion, Piastri. Which once again, is completely normal in Formula 1. Max Verstappen was almost signed by Mercedes when he was entering Formula 1. Wild to think about how that would’ve turned out.

So now that you know the backstory, let’s get to it.

Thursday, July 28th 2022

BREAKING: Sebastian Vettel has announced he will retire from F1 at the end of the 2022 season

4 world titles
53 race wins
122 podiums
1 phenomenal career#ThankYouSeb pic.twitter.com/K8BVXI6IAx

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2022

Days before the Hungarian GP, Sebastian Vettel announced that he would be retiring at the end of the Formula 1 season. This meant that there would be a blank driver’s spot at Aston Martin.

Monday, 1st August 2022, 1:30 pm IST

NEWS: @AstonMartinF1 announces Fernando Alonso for 2023.

We are delighted to confirm that two-time #F1 World Champion @alo_oficial will join the team from next season on a multi-year contract.

Tap below to read more. ⬇️#WeClimbTogether

— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) August 1, 2022

Aston Martin announces that Fernando Alonso will be replacing Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin from 2023 on a multi-year contract. Lawrence Stroll managed to convince Alonso to join the British racing team. This means that there is a blank spot at the Alpine garage. Formula 1 fans think that it will most likely be Piastri.

Tuesday, August 2nd 2022, 8:58 pm IST

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer says he only found out about Fernando Alonso’s move to Aston Martin when he read the official press release 👇

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) August 2, 2022

Alpine Team boss Otmar Szafnauer reveals that he had a conversation with Alonso during the weekend, and Alonso seemed happy at Alpine and that the alpine team only learned about Alonso signing for Aston martin from social media, and not Alonso himself. Otmar also said that he could not get in contact with Alonso and “He’s on a boat, I think, in the Greek Isles somewhere.”

He also added that he is unable to reach Mark Webber, Piastri’s agent.

Tuesday, 2nd August 2022, 9:41 pm IST

2023 driver line-up confirmed: Esteban Ocon 🤝 Oscar Piastri

After four years as part of the Renault and Alpine family, Reserve Driver Oscar Piastri is promoted to a race seat alongside Esteban Ocon starting from 2023. pic.twitter.com/4Fvy0kaPn7

— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) August 2, 2022

Alpine announce that Piastri will be racing for them from next season. He was in the Renault junior driver program for 4 years, and the team believed he was the right fit.

Tuesday 2nd August 2022, 11:40 pm

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.

— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) August 2, 2022

Piastri reveals that the team issued the press release without informing him and that he would not be driving for them next season. He said the Press release is wrong.

And that’s where we are stuck now. Rumour has it that Piastri is interested in a seat in the Mclaren team. There have been no more official statements from either party as of now. So we wait and watch this summer drama unfold, right here at Fervent Motorsports.