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“We will know on Monday if Oscar Piastri will sign for Alpine or McLaren”- Otmar Szafnauer refuses to make Daniel Ricciardo call on live TV

Somin Bhattacharjee
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"We will know on Monday if Oscar Piastri will sign for Alpine or McLaren"- Otmar Szafnauer refuses to make Daniel Ricciardo call on live TV

Otmar Szafnauer refused to admit that outgoing McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo will join Alpine at the end of this campaign. 

F1 action returned this weekend after a three-week summer break with the Belgian GP. However, the excitement in Spa-Francorchamps this weekend is more about the shake-up in the driver market.

After Sebastian Vettel announced his upcoming retirement, Fernando Alonso wasted no time in revealing that he was the four-time Champion’s replacement at Aston Martin. This meant that the Alpine seat was empty for the 2023 campaign.

The French outfit announced their junior driver Oscar Piastri as Esteban Ocon’s teammate for next season. That turned out to be an embarrassing move for Alpine since the Aussie later stated on social media that he won’t drive for the team.

Since then, rumors heavily linked him to Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren seat. Those rumors grew even stronger after McLaren announced earlier this week that the 33-year-old will leave them at the end of this season.

Also read: “I’m a Williams driver”: $1 Million a year Alex Albon to break ties with Red Bull after signing multi-year new contract

Daniel Ricciardo future in F1 is uncertain as of now

Piastri is one of the most talented prospects today. He won the 2021 F2 Championship but spent 2022 on the sidelines as Alpine’s reserve driver. Now that the Enstone-based team decided to promote him, he has shifted his focus elsewhere.

Alpine and McLaren are apparently in a behind the scenes battle for Piastri’s signature. However, it’s likely that the Melbourne-born driver will head to Woking. As a result, Alpine are reportedly eying Ricciardo as replacement.

Nothing has been made official, but ahead of the Belgian GP it was evident that the reporters would bring it up. Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer, however, refused to confirm any rumors. The only thing he assured fans of, was that Piastri’s 2023 future will be sorted out by Monday.

“We will know on Monday if Oscar Piastri will sign with McLaren or Alpine,” he said to Canal plus

Ricciardo’s future meanwhile is also up in the air. There are some rumors that suggest Mick Schumacher being considered for the Alpine seat, with Ricciardo heading to Haas. The next few weeks will be crucial in terms of seeing how the grid shapes up for 2023.

Also read: “Second is really not far away” – George Russell confident of beating 103 race winning Lewis Hamilton in rookie season

About the author

Somin Bhattacharjee

Somin Bhattacharjee

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Formula 1 Editor Somin Bhattacharjee fell for the sport as well as Fernando Alonso on the same day — during the Spaniard’s thrilling victory at the German GP in 2010. Over the years, the passion magnified manyfold, and metamorphosed into a writing career in 2021. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. He has penned over 2,700 articles for TheSportsRush, presenting a diverse range — news reports, opinions, and exclusives. A true Tiffosi, Somin never gives up on a chance to defend the Ferrari boys as a fan. As a sports writer though, he remains objective to the core and relishes opportunities to follow and engage in dissecting the action during races. That’s where the real thrill lies for him. Beyond the racetrack, Somin plays different sports including soccer. He enjoys exploring other sporting events and proudly supports Spanish soccer club Real Madrid.

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