Oscar Piastri drove on Wednesday and Thursday in testing with McLaren at Le Castellet

Officially announced at McLaren in the shoes of a holder in 2023 alongside Lando Norris, Oscar piastri didn't wait long before taking his first spin in his new colors. According to the information we have, the Australian was in fact at the Paul Ricard circuit in Castellet (Var) last Wednesday and Thursday, for a private ride with the Woking team. 

The champion of Formula 2 2021 indeed took to the track in a McLaren, for the first time on Wednesday on the short 3,6 km route, before being entitled to the full circuit on Thursday, for a late session in the rain due to the ropes which fell on the Var plateau at that time. Note that McLaren has not officially communicated about this test, although it is usually used to doing so when it fields Alex Palou or Patricio O'Ward. 

Oscar Piastri released?

Officially, Oscar Piastri is still the reserve driver ofAlpine, since the stable ofenstone never announced that he was no longer. Behind the scenes, however, since the CRB (FIA Contract Recognition Bureau) ruled in favor of McLaren in the dispute between it and Alpine regarding Piastri's tenure in 2023, discussions are taking place between the two teams to find out when the Melbourne native could join his new team. 

Note that, at Castellet, Piastri was dressed in a McLaren suit on which the sponsors were hidden. Would this rolling mean thatAlpine would have released Oscar Piastri from his contract? Hard to say. In any case, it is difficult to imagine McLaren running Oscar if he is still under contract with another team, unless there is an agreement between the three parties. Contacted by AUTOhebdo on the issue, the Enstone team has not yet responded to our request. 

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