F1 Experts Reveal Alpine Could Lose Another Bright Talent, Who Is Hailed by Oscar Piastri as The Biggest Challenge He Ever Faced

Sabyasachi Biswas | 15/08/2023
F1 Expert Argues Red Bull Hiring "Too Good" Oscar Piastri to Replace $10,000,000 Star Would Be a Blunder

The current F1 grid is watertight but it will take only one exclusion to have a silly season, yet again. And this was the topic of discussion during The Race F1 Podcast, where the experts discussed who could potentially be the new inclusion in the grid. Amid this, Alpine junior Viktor Martins’ name came up as the experts opened up on the driver who is hailed by Oscar Piastri as his fiercest competitor.

Piastri, in a recent conversation in P1 with Matt and Tommy, revealed that Martins was the driver with whom he had a big championship battle in Formula Renault. But that is not enough to bring him into F1 as the grid is complete with 20 drivers and this makes the rookie inflow almost impossible.

But if a surprise comes along, Alpine could lose a big talent in the form of Martins. This is because the Frenchman is a driver from the Enstone-based team, who is currently competing in Formula 2 with ART Grand Prix.

F1 expert opined on Alpine talent Viktor Martins

With no chance of getting a new driver in the grid this season, the 2024 F1 season also promises no such new inclusion. However, the 2025 season might see a few changes and with that Martins’ name might arrive.

This can also come through the sacking of Logan Sargeant, who is having a subpar season with Williams for now. Talking about this, F1 expert Valentin Khorounzhiy said, “I think 2025 is within the realms of some realism is Alpine junior Viktor Martins.”

Furthermore, Khorounzhiy also compared the young French driver with Pierre Gasly. He focused on how the F2 driver resembles the former Red Bull star during the latter’s younger days.

Alpine resorted to the safer side after the Oscar Piastri saga

Interestingly, former Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer recently revealed that Alpine made stricter contracts with their prodigies following the Oscar Piastri saga. It is understandable why they don’t want to go that way ever again.

On the other hand, it is highly unlikely that Alpine will uphold Viktor Martins over Pierre Gasly or Esteban Ocon in the seasons to come. That might see the F2 driver test his fortune somewhere else.

Amidst all this, Formula 1 is working on how to make drivers stay loyal to their team and not jump to other opportunities within the same ecosystem, like Oscar Piastri.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Oscar Piastri Viktor Martins

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Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

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