Alpine confident over Piastri verdict

LONDON • Renault-owned Alpine are confident of their case ahead of today's meeting as Formula One's Contract Recognition Board (CRB) decides which team Australian Oscar Piastri should race for next season.

At yesterday's Belgian Grand Prix, team boss Otmar Szafnauer insisted Alpine's contract with their 21-year-old reserve was solid.

Piastri has ruled out racing for Alpine and is believed to have signed a deal to race for rivals McLaren instead.

McLaren have not commented but last week created a vacancy by terminating Australian Daniel Ricciardo's contract for next year.

Said Szafnauer: "We'll have the CRB decide which contract that Oscar signed takes precedence, and once we have that ruling, we'll... see where we go.

"I've seen both sides of the argument and we're confident that Oscar signed with us back in November and there are certain things that need to be in the contract and I'm confident they are in there."

Szafnauer added there had been no end-July deadline and Alpine's contract was for next year with an option for 2024.

Asked whether Alpine could force last year's F2 champion to race for them, the Romanian-American said that would have to wait until a decision is made today or tomorrow.

The dispute arose after Alpine's double world champion Fernando Alonso announced he would be leaving the team for Aston Martin at the end of the year.

Alpine had been prepared to give the 41-year-old Spaniard a one-year extension, and park Piastri at Williams, but Alonso wanted a longer deal and, as a free agent, he jumped at the Aston Martin opportunity earlier this month.

Alpine then announced Piastri as Alonso's replacement, only for the rising racer to reject the seat.

When asked whether Alpine might take back Ricciardo, who joined McLaren from Renault at the end of 2020 should arbitration not be in their favour, Szafnauer sidestepped the question.

"Can I tell you after Monday because I might not even have to think about that?" he said, adding that Piastri remained active in the team.

"He's back in Enstone, he's driving our simulator and helping with car set-up," he said.

"We continue to prepare Oscar in no different a manner than we have in the past. The relationship hasn't wavered and we continue."

Szafnauer added it was "disappointing" Piastri was, so far, not delivering on his "promise" to race for the team and admitted Alpine would review its support of junior drivers.

Other teams have backed Alpine, including Red Bull and Mercedes.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: "I think if Renault and Alpine have invested into his junior career, it's because... you're investing in it for the future, and there has to be an element of loyalty within that.

"So I don't understand obviously contractually what's going on there."

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff added: "I think it's important that junior programmes are being respected.

"I think some of the kids should be wary on Twitter what they said about multinational organisations."

REUTERS