Otmar Szafnauer continues to believe that Oscar Piastri’s Alpine contract for the 2023 Formula 1 season might have been confirmed by another court
If former Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer is to be believed, Oscar Piastri might have had to race for the Enstone-based team in the 2023 Formula 1 season after all. In his opinion, the Australian had a valid contract
Looking back: In the summer of 2022, Alpine had officially announced Piastri as a driver for the 2023 Formula 1 season. However, at the time, which only came to light later, the former Formula 2 champion had already signed a contract with McLaren.
Ultimately, the case went before the Contract Recognition Board (CRB), which ruled that Alpine did not have a valid contract with Piastri, whereas McLaren did. However, Alpine team boss Szafnauer, who has since been sacked, still sees things differently today.
“If we had taken the contract to an English court, because it was drawn up in accordance with English law, the outcome could have been very different from that before the CRB.”
“From the CRB’s point of view there was [an exit option for Piastri], but from the point of view of English law it could have been different. But the decision was made not to fight any further and just leave it at that,” explains Szafnauer.
Szafnauer: Alpine did not want to continue fighting for Piastri
“I didn’t make this decision, it was made for me,” emphasized the then team boss, hinting that he would have been prepared to continue fighting for Piastri. But Alpine decided to put the matter behind them and let the Australian go.
Incidentally, Szafnauer is not angry with Piastri because of all the trouble. “I wish Oscar all the best. He did well against Lando [Norris 2023],” emphasizes Szafnauer. In the World Championship, however, Norris was clearly ahead internally at McLaren with 205:97 points.
“For me, the next two years will be more meaningful,” emphasizes Szafnauer and explains: “You have to give Oscar the year to get used to the team and the tracks with this car. And then we’ll see.”
Piastri himself is unlikely to regret his decision in any case, as McLaren (302 points) finished two places ahead of Alpine (120) in the world championship last season and scored more than twice as many points as his former employer.
