“In the spirit of offering maximum racing opportunities”- Alpine star Oscar Piastri can race for McLaren if Daniel Ricciardo fails to appear in Bahrain GP

Samriddhi Jaiswal | 12/03/2022
"In the spirit of offering maximum racing opportunities"- Alpine star Oscar Piastri can race for McLaren if Daniel Ricciardo fails to appear in Bahrain GP

Alpine has agreed to let Oscar Piastri drive McLaren in case Daniel Ricciardo fails to appear during the Bahrain GP.

Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri might drive McLaren at the Bahrain GP next week. The Alpine F1 team have agreed to offer Piastri to McLaren in case Daniel Ricciardo fails to appear.

The McLaren driver Ricciardo tested positive for Covid-19 a day before the opening day of the pre-season testing in Bahrain. His teammate Lando Norris covered for him and ran the MCL36 for testing all alone. Norris even appeared alone for the opening photoshoot of the season.

Even though McLaren said that Ricciardo will be released in time the team is getting prepared if anything goes south.

Given the situation, Alpine offered help to the Woking-based team. Alpine said, “In the spirit of offering maximum racing opportunities to our stable of young talent, we have agreed that McLaren may call upon Reserve Driver Oscar Piastri in the event one of their drivers is unable to race.”

Also Read: Daniel Ricciardo tests Covid positive ahead of the 2022 season

More replacements for Daniel Ricciardo

McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl also named a few drivers who can replace Ricciardo at the Bahrain GP. Seidl said that the Australian would be replaced by either Nyck de Vries or Stoffel Vandoorne.

Seidl said that Ricciardo is isolated under the regulations. But in case he tests positive again next week, the team has an action plan.

“That’s where an agreement with Mercedes kicks in [and] either Nyck de Vries or Stoffel Vandoorne would sit in the car,” he said. Both these drivers currently act as reserve drivers for the Silver Arrows.

Vandoorne is set to be in action at the 1000 Miles of Sebring, as part of the World Endurance Championship season. De Vries does not have any prior commitments in his diary.

Also Read: Who will McLaren pair alongside Lando Norris if the Aussie star doesn’t recover from Covid in time for 2022 season-opener?

Post Edited By: Samriddhi Jaiswal
Alpine Andreas Seidl Daniel Ricciardo McLaren Oscar Piastri

About the author

Samriddhi Jaiswal

Samriddhi Jaiswal is an F1 editor and writer at The SportsRush. She started her career as a business journalist but soon found her calling in lights out here we go! Samriddhi has been a Ferrari fan even when her interaction with F1 was occasional. Her first real experience with the thrilling sport came when Charles Leclerc clinched his iconic victory in Spa and Monza and painted the track red. Now, a Tifosi, Samriddhi is a hardcore fan of the prancing horse and can relate to the chaos within the Italian camp and also admires Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Off the track, she finds her home in books and musical instruments.

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