After Fernando Alonso announced he would be driving for Aston Martin in 2023, Alpine announced Oscar Piastri as his replacement. Oscar was a product of their academy since 2020 and was the 2021 F2 Champion.
But the youngster outright rejected the vacant F1 seat in a viral tweet. Instead, Piastri had already signed a deal with McLaren for 2023, in the event that Daniel Ricciardo is dropped.
While Alpine was forced to hunt for a new driver, they were humiliated by the driver’s desertion. The team also lost the services of a generational talent that they helped to develop.
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
CEO Laurent Rossi claims the lessons learnt from the saga have left a scar on Alpine’s culture of developing and signing drivers. Something the French team will always be mindful of in the future.
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Laurent Rossi opens up about the Oscar Piastri contract issue
Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi states that since the Oscar Piastri issue, the team has become more wary of their driver contracts. The Frenchman feels the young drivers need to be approached with more caution.
The Aussie has been associated with the French team since his F3 days. Alpine helped the youngster find a competitive seat in F3 and F2, letting him win in his debut season. And also allowed 21-year old to test and learn in order to someday fill their F1 seat.
Rossi said in the Beyond the grid podcast, “We’ve learnt that there’s no such thing as loyalty, especially when individual interests are at stake. It can be hard for people who are sometimes a little too young to weigh the pros and cons.”
Amazing to make my #F1 debut – a childhood dream turned reality. Not the end we wanted. Gave it my all and was pretty reasonable race up to that point. Will be working hard with the team 🧡#OP81 #BahrainGP 🇧🇭 pic.twitter.com/dDrnrWwPr1
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) March 5, 2023
He added, “We also learnt that we were under-prepared in some places, especially in how we drafted the contracts with the junior drivers and how we transferred them into F1.”
The team had a lot of loopholes in their contract which other team principles as Toto Wolff and Christian Horner had pointed out. He believes the situation will be used as an example for future F1 teams as well.
“Piastri situation has changed us” reckons Rossi
Laurent Rossi claims it would be stupid of Alpine if they had’nt learnt from the Oscar Piastri saga. The CEO asserts the team gave “too much freedom” to the youngster.
But no one would’ve expected that the Aussie with long-standing ties with the team would move to a competitor. However, Alpine has now taken measures to ‘protect’ the drivers under contract.
Rossi added, “It should be the standard to return to a team that helped you. And we’re going to change that. We’ve become a bit more corporate and protective with our contracts now. It’s more stringent now when you sign something with Alpine.”
The Frenchman describes the current situation more like a “family with a contract.” A grim situation to imagine, but the team were forced to take the decision.
No regrets. Driving for McLaren was a rare opportunity @OscarPiastri could not turn down. 👊🧡#DriveToSurvive @NetflixUK @F1 pic.twitter.com/mMmxY8g4KZ
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 24, 2023
Rossi believes with the money involved in operating an F1 academy and team, it’s wise to be more professional with driver contracts. Something the humiliation following the debacle must have taught the Frenchman.
Alpine spent million on developing Piastri and demanded a payback when he left the team. They even sought legal action against McLaren and the driver for not honouring their contract. But the team lost the case and was forced to pay $420,000 to the British team and driver.
