Former Sauber Junior driver Juan Manuel Correa revealed that Alpine were playing with both Oscar Piastri and Fernando Alonso.
Over the last few weeks, the saga surrounding Piastri and Alpine has taken the world of F1 by storm. As soon as Alonso announced that he would replace Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin in 2023, Alpine wasted no time in revealing Piastri as Esteban Ocon’s future teammate.
That turned out to be an embarrassing moment for the French team, as Piastri soon revealed that Alpine was not going to be his team for 2023. This came as shocking news for F1 fans, as the young Aussie had been a part of the team’s junior setup for over four years.
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
Piastri spent 2022 as a reserve driver for Alpine, and most people assumed that Alpine would promote him the moment Alonso decided to leave or retire. As it turns out, Alpine lost out on both the 2-time World Champion and the 2021 F2 Champion in the space of two days.
Piastri’s destination next season has not been revealed yet. However, very strong rumors are linking him to the McLaren seat of outgoing driver Daniel Ricciardo.
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Formula 3 driver exposes Alpine’s game with Oscar Piastri and Fernando Alonso
Juan Manuel Correa is currently driving for ART Grand Prix in Formula 3. In a recent interview, the American-Ecuadorian driver revealed that Alpine were playing games with both Piastri and Alonso.
Correa and Piastri have the same physiotherapist, so he got to know a lot about the insides of how Piastri’s last few months went. The 23-year-old insisted that Alpine had promised a lot of things to Piastri which they hadn’t fulfilled. This made the Melbourne born driver turn away from the Enstone based outfit.
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
“I don’t know how much I should say,” Correa said in an interview with Sky Sports’ Anthony Davidson. “The thing is my physio this year is actually Oscar’s full-time physio. So, I know quite a bit about it.”
“From my perspective and what is public knowledge, I think it is actually more of Alpine’s fault. They were playing a little bit with Oscar and Fernando. They didn’t give Oscar I think what they had promised, and any driver in his position would have done what he did. That’s what I think, from what I know.”
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