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FIA confident of proper end to Piastri soap

13 August 2022 at 11:20
Last update 13 August 2022 at 11:59
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  • GPblog.com

Those who thought that it would be a quiet summer break in Formula 1 were sorely disappointed. Oscar Piastri caused a stir by stating that he will not race for Alpine next season, while the French formation already made an official announcement. The FIA trusts that the soap opera will be brought to a proper conclusion.

Alpine argues that they are in the right and that Piastri should respect the contract. However, the Australian himself believes that the commitment is not valid. It is said that there was a deadline which Alpine missed, but the question is whether that is enough to nullify the whole contract. Piastri, meanwhile, is said to be aiming for a switch to McLaren.

In any case, the Driver Contract Recognition Board (CRB) is going to look at the case and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is confident they will come to the right conclusion. "The CRB was set up to deal with contract priority issues between drivers and F1 teams. That's why we rely on their decision to resolve any conflict."

Once the body has made its decision, there is little chance that the losing side will resign themselves to it. Alpine have repeatedly shouted last week that if the CRB rules against them, they will almost certainly go to court. It is therefore likely that this saga will have a very long tail end.

FIA expects right decision to be made