Fresh evidence brought to the table in the Alex Palou v McLaren court case has given a new insight into Alpine‘s decisions surrounding Oscar Piastri and the treatment of Australian drivers at the Enstone-based operation.
Piastri watched the 2022 Formula 1 season from the sidelines as Alpine’s reserve driver and Contract Recognition Board (CRB) documents obtained by PlanetF1.com revealed that the Australian felt the team “had been shilly-shallying about” regarding his contract.
Piastri had a sense of despair as he had been linked to a four year deal that would see him out of the sport again in 2023, overlooked for a second year.
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This was “the last straw”, prompting the Piastri camp to look for suitors elsewhere, finding a match with McLaren.
This locked the Aussie in his own contract battle, as Alpine bizarrely announced him as their 2023 driver with the unexpected departure of Fernando Alonso. Piastri refuted this claim through a social media statement.
CRB documents show that Piastri inked a deal to sign with McLaren for 2023 on June 3.
As Alpine had been sitting on their hands for the previous eight months, the papaya team swooped in to sign Piastri and the CRB summary noted of the contract that “relates to McLaren enjoying Mr Piastri’s services as a Formula 1 driver.”
Oscar Piastri, Reserve Driver, Alpine F1 Team during the Canadian GP. LAT Images
As the CRB ruled that contract signed by Piastri on June 3 was the only valid contract that existed, they confirmed that the Australian would be a driver for McLaren in 2023 and beyond.
In the instance of Jack Doohan, the Australian driver is all left off the table for a seat in 2026 after his seven-race stint with Alpine.
His manager, Flavio Briatore, who serves as de facto team principal, has said the Australian driver is not in contention.
Rather the race for the 2026 seat will be between his replacement, Franco Colapinto, and reserve driver Paul Aron.
Colapinto is currently under watchful eyes as his results have not lived up to expectation.
The 22-year-old’s best result of 11th puts him in the firing line, with Aron waiting to snatch the seat before the end of the year.
Jack Doohan of Alpine F1 looks on during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Miami. LAT Images
With the controversial signing of Briatore, it seems Doohan’s chances of re-joining the team have dwindled to nothing.
Formula 1 will resume racing this weekend for the United States Grand Prix.