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.
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.
