'Piastri deadline for Alpine may have been on 31 July'

Rumors

2 August 2022 at 19:40
Last update 2 August 2022 at 21:57
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  • GPblog.com

Alpine was pleased to announce on Tuesday that Oscar Piastri will take his place alongside Esteban Ocon from 2023 onwards, but the Australian himself flatly denies that he will race for Alpine next year. Both parties are convinced of their true intentions and so it seems an independent party will soon have to judge who has interpreted the contractual terms correctly. 

It was Fernando Alonso who possibly set the whole soap opera in motion. There are rumours on the internet that Alpine had to inform Piastri by 31 July whether he would get a seat with the French formation for 2023 or not. For a long time it seemed that there would be no place for the 21-year-old driver, as all indications were that two-time world champion Alonso would renew his expiring contract with the current number four in the constructors' championship.

Deadline at 31 July?

Alpine was aiming to bring Piastri to Williams for a year. However, Alonso decided to announce his move to Aston Martin on 1 August and so Alpine responded the day after by appointing Piastri as his replacement, but it may have been too late. The deadline could well have been 31 July, the last day before the summer break.

By missing this deadline (if it exists) Piastri is convinced that he is free to go wherever he wants. McLaren seems the most obvious option. He would never prefer a seat at Williams to a permanent position at Alpine and all other teams in the sub top already have their line-up for next year.

Alpine, however, thinks they are on the right track on this issue and so we are curious to see what happens next in this soap opera of 2022. Who will be right?

Alpine possibly just too late