Alpine is currently undergoing turmoil as the side parted ways with team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane in quick succession following a disappointing start to the 2023 season. As the French outfit continues to struggle, Oscar Piastri’s mom, Nicole, seems to be enjoying herself. Nicole recently liked several Tweets relating to Szafnauer’s departure and how Oscar now finds himself in a much better spot following his $2,000,000 move to McLaren.
Nicole seems happy because Oscar no longer is a part of all the tension that is going on in Alpine. This is because the Australian successfully made his move to the Woking-based outfit after a stressful contract battle with Alpine in the middle of last year.
The French outfit had released a Tweet in August last year that they had successfully signed Oscar Piastri for the 2023 season, only for the 22-year-old to deny it soon after. On reading Alpine’s post, the 2021 F2 champion explained how the team had put out a press release without his approval.
He then went on to deny that he had signed a contract with them for the 2023 season, and made it clear that he would be driving for another side. And with all this drama now behind him, it is fair to say that the Piastri family is now enjoying their time at McLaren.
Nicole enjoys Oscar Piastri’s success at the expense of Alpine
Oscar Piastri seems to be the man of the moment as he delivered an outstanding performance with McLaren during the recently concluded Belgian Grand Prix sprint race. The 22-year-old first qualified a brilliant second during the sprint shootout and managed to hold onto the place during the race to clinch his first F1 podium.
Since the Australian’s best performance of this season coincided with the departure of Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer, Nicole Piastri could not help but take a dig at the French outfit. She liked several Tweets that seem to suggest how Oscar is now having a much better time at McLaren as compared to Alpine, who are going through a tumultuous time.
The first Tweet that Nicole liked stated, “If I was Oscar Piastri I would simply Tweet ‘that one was for you Otmar Szafnauer’. Then delete the app and turn off my phone“. On similar lines, the second Tweet that Nicole liked showed the contrasting fortunes of Szafnauer and Oscar.
This is because on the one hand, Alpine sacked the Romanian-American, and in stark contrast, Oscar managed to finish second in the sprint race the same weekend. And it seems that Nicole perhaps has some good reason to be unhappy with Szafnauer after what transpired last season.
Nicole is perhaps unhappy with the way Szafnauer treated Oscar
According to a report put out by formula1news.co.uk, Alpine and Otmar Szafnauer were wasting Oscar Piastri’s talent. This is because the team never gave the Australian an opportunity to test the side’s 2022 car despite the 22-year-old being a reserve driver for them.
And it is not just that, as the report also adds that Alpine had initially wanted Piastri to sign for Williams, a move which the 2021 F2 champion was not pleased with. It is this reason why Piastri pounced on the opportunity when Mclaren decided to sign him.
Once McLaren had successfully announced Piastri, Szafnauer had explained how he was keen to show the young Australian that he made the wrong choice. As quoted by formula1news.co.uk, he told Fox Sports in Australia, “I wish Oscar good luck, but I think it’s for us to prove that he made the wrong choice“.
Since the Romanian-American seemingly holds a grudge with Oscar, it seems that Nicole was not happy with the situation. And hence, it is perhaps this reason why she seemed to enjoy the Tweets that mocked the situation surrounding Alpine and Szafnauer.
