Laurent Rossi finally comes out of silence after the Piastri affair

The big boss of the brand Alpine, Laurent Red, naturally left Otmar Szafnauer, his main team whom he also strengthened, to be on the front line while the team went through an image crisis following the surprise departure of Fernando Alonso and above all to the thorny matter Piastres which resulted from it. A little over a week later the CRB verdict which rejected the French brand and validated the contract signed by Oscar Piastri with McLaren, Laurent Rossi expressed his disappointment and reviewed the news of his team.

Regarding Fernando Alonso

The announcement of the departure of the Spaniard, double world champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006, the day after the Hungarian Grand Prix, constituted the first shock in the ranks ofAlpine. His signature for Aston Martin was a general surprise, starting with the A arrow himself, who seemed to learn the news at the same time as the rest of the world, even if Alonso assured that he had called Luca de Meo, the boss of the Renault group, and Laurent Rossi , to tell them the news. “We wanted him to continue with us as driver ofEndurance or from Dakar, Rossi told the now very active Formula 1 website. Why did we only give him two years? Because we only had two option years with Oscar. Fernando wanted to drive longer in F1, which we could not bring to him on our side under penalty of losing Oscar. And then, we couldn't compete on the conditions that were offered to him either." he said subtly, before asserting that he had no ill will against the Spaniard, calling him a “incredible champion, who will remain in the legend of the brand”. “We are sad to part ways but we remain family. That's life. It's a shame to lose a champion, but it happens. It’s silly season…”

Fernando Alonso left Alpine, faster than light… © DPPI

On Oscar Piastri

Naturally, the departure of Fernando Alonso has changed the plans ofAlpine, who initially wanted to place Oscar Piastri with Williams during two years. The second seat of the French team is finally available alongsideEsteban Ocon, Alpine immediately tried to activate the option which appeared in the reserve driver contract signed by the Australian in November 2021, by announcing the tenure of the champion of Formula 2 2021. Problem… the latter denied any signature and assured that he would not ride with it Alpine, despite years of collaboration and preparation for F1.

“When the Williams opportunity was about to become a concrete deal, the molding of its seat was even planned, they (Piastri management) said: “we have a possible opportunity at McLaren”, explained Rossi. It was obviously a disappointment. We felt it strangely, because we expected a little more loyalty considering how much we were invested alongside him. They never said they were going to McLaren, just that there was an opportunity.”

Oscar Piastri was congratulated by Laurent Rossi after his F2 title. © Antonin Vincent / DPPI

And Laurent Rossi explains the entire process that resulted from it. “Then, we saw in July, on the 6th I think, that Ricciardo was confirmed for 2023 (two days after Piastri signed for McLaren). So we concluded that there had been interest but no space available. That maybe there had been an opportunity but the door was closed, so Oscar was still in the game for us. Otmar (Szafnauer) saw him, told him and announced his signing. We never knew officially that he had signed (for McLaren). He never told us (Piastri assures the opposite, Editor’s note). We thought the seat at Williams was great for him, a great opportunity to learn with a little less pressure, a great team to train in, able to develop talents like George (Russell, who stayed there for three years before joining Mercedes). "

Laurent Rossi then somewhat scratched the Australian and the confidence he could have in him. “I'm somewhat surprised that Oscar thought he was better than Williams in the first place. I can understand that McLaren could be more interesting from a sporting point of view than Williams, but we didn't expect that after so much effort and loyalty on our side, that they would use the back door to walk away, and get what looks like a better contract. These are not our values. »

Despite the bitterness and disappointment, the bossAlpine took responsibility for the legal errors highlighted by the CRB verdict, which concluded that only Piastri's McLaren contract was valid. “We made mistakes, from a legal and technical point of view. We left the door ajar by not locking him with a contract so specific that he couldn't have left. For what ? This is more of an omission because we did not think, by offering so much to someone, by allowing them to train, to prepare, to be a reserve, by offering them a seat in a partner stable, that He wouldn't take it after so many years of investment at his side, and victories in championships with our support. Like George before him, who went to Williams before returning to Mercedes, like Charles (Leclerc) who went to Sauber before returning to Ferrari, like Max (Verstappen) and Sebastian (Hag)…they all made a junior team before! » The French leader ended up delivering the final blow: “I would simply say that things never happen for nothing, that there is always a reason. We do not share the same conception of things, obviously not the same values ​​either. So maybe it's better this way... to separate. »

On replacing Fernando Alonso

The departures of the Spaniard and the Australian having been recorded, the next project for Alpine is to find the ideal complement to Esteban Ocon, with whom they are committed until 2024. Several names have obviously come up here and there, starting with Pierre Gasly, under contract Red Bull until next year but for which Helmut Marko opened the door to a departure in the event of agreement with Alpine. “We don’t want to rush our decision, tempered Rossi. It's a process that Otmar leads, because he knows what's best for the team. We also take the advice of our engineers. The driver is important, but the car is even more important by far”. 

Pierre Gasly, next driver Alpine ? © Florent Gooden / DPPI

Then he drew up the robot portrait of the wanted pilot. “We need someone who helps the team grow, who helps develop the car. We are looking for a driver who is efficient enough to score points directly and take the team with him. These are our criteria.” “There are several that interest us. Helmut Marko mentioned Pierre, why wouldn't we consider him? He is a very good driver, and a superb candidate for us”. In recent weeks, the track leading to Jack Doohan, academy driver who had a great end to the season in Formula 2, has also been discussed. “We take it into consideration. We believe in him, he has shown all his potential, especially recently. He's a beautiful person, he's fast, his father is also a champion who I admire (Mick Doohan, five-time motorcycle world champion). They are in our plans. At some point we will try to put him in an F1 car at some point. » Listening to these comments, it probably won't be for next year. The French boss has in any case arranged to meet at the end of September, where he hopes to see more clearly regarding the identity of his second driver.

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