Oscar Piastri says he twice told Alpine he would be leaving the team before they "falsely" announced him as a 2023 driver; In his first interview since being confirmed at McLaren for 2023, Piastri says whole saga was "bizarre and upsetting"
Saturday 3 September 2022 10:40, UK
New McLaren signing Oscar Piastri has accused Alpine of "bizarre" actions in handling his Formula 1 future and says it was "very upsetting" to be falsely announced as a 2023 driver after telling the team he was leaving.
In his first interview since the F1 transfer saga was settled with a Contract Recognition Board ruling, Piastri also revealed there was a "breakdown in trust" with Alpine and he is confident in proving himself at McLaren.
"To be completely honest, there was a lack of clarity around my future at the team at Alpine," Piastri, who will partner Lando Norris as a rookie on the grid next season, told F1.
"They publicly stated they wished to continue with Fernando [Alonso] for at least one or two more years. I respect that.
"But after spending the year out, my hopes were firmly set on an Alpine seat and the lack of clarity and, similarly to Fernando, a bit of a strange feeling in negotiations, it didn't feel like it was the right decision for me [to stay around].
"The lack of clarity around my future, and ultimately a breakdown in trust, I felt the very attractive offer of McLaren and the positive dealings with them thus far were all reasons why I felt McLaren was where I was best off for the future."
Piastri has been an Alpine junior driver since 2019 and has established himself as one of motorsport's most successful juniors. It was always presumed that he would step up from reserve driver to the grid with the French team.
Alpine even announced him as Alonso's replacement at the start of August, only for Piastri to deny there was an agreement with a now infamous social media post.
Piastri claims he had twice told Alpine he wouldn't be driving with them in 2023 before their announcement, stating: "My decision was made well in advance [of Alonso's departure], which made Alpine's announcement probably even more confusing and upsetting because we had told the team that I wasn't going to continue.
"It was quite upsetting as the announcement was false and it also denied me the opportunity to properly say goodbye to everyone at Enstone.
"I had been with the team for a bit over two and a half years now, and for the rest of the team to find out I was leaving in that manner was very upsetting. I still haven't had the opportunity to say goodbye and it's something I want to do to show my gratitude to all the men and women at Enstone."
Piastri was told Alpine were putting the announcement out during a simulator session at Alpine and team boss Otmar Szafnauer said that Piastri had "smiled and said thank you" at being told of the news.
But Piastri has called that a "bizarre and frankly upsetting episode".
"It was done publicly in front of some members of the team who were oblivious to the situation and I didn't want to cause a scene in front of them," said the Australian. "Once we were in private, I told Otmar what our position was and what he had been told multiple times before that. It was very surprising to me to make that announcement."
Looking back on his tweet, which said Alpine's announcement was "wrong" and that he will "not be driving for Alpine next year", Piastri says he and his management team, which includes ex-F1 driver Mark Webber, felt it was necessary.
"It was the biggest moment of my career and probably my life up to now," he explained.
"To have that falsely announced was something my management and I felt we had to correct and there was also potential legal implications if we didn't deny the announcement.
"It was not intended to be pointed or in any way anything more than factual. The last line was quite a strong one, but with the CRB ruling, it shows it was purely a fact."
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 for the first time after the CRB's ruling on Saturday morning, Szafnauer said he felt there were "good arguments on both sides"
The Alpine team principal, who had previously voiced his confidence that Piastri's contract with the team was watertight, said after the hearing: "Afterwards I thought it was about 50/50 or 60/40... but wasn't 90/10. So not shell-shocked at all."
Szafnauer also insisted that Piastri went back on his word.
"Even if there's a legal loophole whether he's allowed to leave, it's not about that, it's about what we agreed back in November.
"Our agreement was we do a bunch of things for him including making him our reserve driver, running him last year's car, and including when McLaren and Mercedes came looking for a reserve for a bunch of races.
"We did all those things and he only needed to do a couple of things for us and those were to either take a seat with us or be placed in a seat for '23 and '24. And that didn't happen."
