Oscar Piastri’s announcement that he will not race for Alpine in F1 has been a worrying sign for Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo has not performed up to standards since his hugely anticipated move from Renault in 2021. Lando Norris has completely outshined him, other than his solitary race win in Monza last season.
2022 has been an even more woeful year for him, and some reports have even suggested that the team were considering axing the honey badger.
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
After Sebastian Vettel’s retirement from F1 at the end of the season was confirmed, a lot of speculation surrounding the empty Aston Martin seat arose. Fernando Alonso put an end to those speculations after confirming himself as Vettel’s replacement earlier this week.
Alpine were quick to act. They made Oscar Piastri’s promotion to F1 official just a day later. However, it turned out to be an embarassing situation for the French team as Piastri himself revealed he won’t be driving for them.
Also read: When Michael Schumacher dropped $45 million a year salary just not to team up with Kimi Raikkonen
Why Oscar Piastri won’t be replacing Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren
Ricciardo has a contract with McLaren until the end of the 2023 season. In spite of that, rumors are linking Piastri heavily to his fellow Aussie’s seat. Neither the team, nor the driver’s entourage have commented anything as of now.
However, there is a big catch if McLaren do decide to bring Piastri in. The Woking outfit have to pay Ricciardo a million dollars if they decide to remove him after 2022.
📰 Uma fonte disse à ESPN que o acordo de Piastri com a McLaren dizia que ele seria reserva em 2023, assumindo a vaga do compatriota Daniel em 2024.
A McLaren terá que pagar uma cláusula de rescisão milionária se quiser rescindir com Ricciardo antes do final de 2023. pic.twitter.com/7ffFAQ6F4U
— Portal McLaren Racing 🇧🇷 (@McLarenBrasilF1) August 3, 2022
This will be a financial burden which can be avoided. According to some sources, the papaya outfit have offered Piastri another year of reserve duties, which will automatically turn into a full role in 2024 once Ricciardo’s contract expires.
Alpine have still not commented on what the situation is regarding Piastri. However, it seems clear that the reserve driver of the Enstone based outfit is done with them and will kickstart his F1 career elsewhere.
Other teams like Williams were also interested in signing the young Australian. However, it seems likely that his future points towards McLaren as of now.
Also read: $1 Million worth Alex Albon signs multi-year contract with Williams
