Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer has slammed Oscar Piastri for showing a lack of integrity in his sudden attempt to defect to McLaren for 2023.
Piastri is Alpine’s reserve driver after rising through the junior ranks with the French team’s backing, but his Mark Webber-led management is attempting to parachute him in McLaren next season, where the team has sacked Daniel Ricciardo to make sense for the promising rookie.
It’s created one of the most chaotic driver market scenarios in recent years and proved significantly embarrassing to Alpine, which appears to have lost grasp not only of two-time champion Fernando Alonso but also the young charge to whom it’s devoted much time and money for development.
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It’s clearly incensed Szafnauer, who in his latest broadside has blasted the young Australian for a lack of integrity in his attempted team switch.
“He’s a promising young driver [but] hasn’t driven in Formula 1 yet,” Szafnauer told Sky Sports. “My wish for Oscar was he had a bit more integrity.
“He signed a bit of paper as well back in November and we’ve done everything on our end of the bargain to prepare him for Formula 1.
“His end of the bargain was to either drive for us or take a seat where we would place him for the next three years.
“I just wish Oscar would have remembered what he signed in November, what he signed up to.”
Alpine had planned to loan Piastri to the back-of-the-grid Williams for an apprenticeship while Alonso continued in his seat, but the Spaniard suddenly switched to Aston Martin when Sebastian Vettel announced his impending retirement.
By the time Alpine attempted to call on Piastri to take up his seat for 2023, the young Aussie’s camp had already manoeuvred him into McLaren’s orbit, assuming a full-time Alpine drive was off the cards.
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But Alpine insists it still has a contractual hold on Piastri, and on Monday the matter will go before the FIA’s contract recognition board for arbitration.
“I think the right thing for us is to go to the CRB on Monday and see how that pans out and then start looking at some negotiations in earnest,” Szafnauer said.
Alpine is expected to try to woo Daniel Ricciardo back to Enstone in the event Piastri is found to be validly signed to McLaren, though Szafnauer appeared to suggest that the team may well negotiate with McLaren to allow for his release even if found to be in the right given the acrimony of the situation.
“The team speaks very highly of Daniel and his time here,” Szafnauer said. “We haven’t had those strategic discussions yet but everybody that I ask, the engineering team, they really speak highly of his skill as a driver and a team motivator.
“We’ve got to look forward now and fill the open seat with the best driver.”
