Four years ago, Oscar Piastri created chaos in the Formula 1 community with a single, iconic tweet that will forever live in motorsport folklore.

After winning the Formula 2 championship with Prema, Piastri was sidelined for the 2022 season by Alpine, spending a year as their reserve driver while Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon drove for the team.

Oscar Piastri, reserve driver for Alpine F1, arrives at Albert Park and poses for a photo with fans ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. Getty Images

But with Australia’s Mark Webber as his manager, Piastri’s career was set to be sold to the highest bidder in the paddock and the dominoes finally began to fall when Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement from the sport.

Veteran driver Alonso then drew a bombshell reaction from the F1 community when he quickly chose to replace Vettel in the vacant Aston Martin seat.

Cue the chaos.

Desperate to lock in their line-up with the loss of their champion driver, Alpine prematurely announced Piastri as their main driver for the upcoming 2023 season.

Except, Piastri had already signed a deal with McLaren to take over fellow Aussie Daniel Riccardo’s seat at the end of the 2022 season.

So hours later, Piastri posted the iconic tweet that still lives in F1 folklore today.

“I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year.

“This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.”

McLaren’s vision was clear: build a youthful line-up featuring then 22-year-old Lando Norris alongside the Aussie rookie.

It was a high-stakes gamble that paid off spectacularly, with the duo since securing two constructors’ championships and a drivers’ championship for the team.

The four-year anniversary has given many fans a chuckle as they remember the fallout of this event.

The dispute went all the way to the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board, which ruled entirely in McLaren’s favour, clearing the path for Piastri to carve out his legacy in the sport.