Piastri: “No one made me any promises”

Already placed in immersion withinAlpine this weekend in Qatar, the young Australian Oscar piastri (20 years old), current leader of the championship Formula 2, willingly lent himself to questions from journalists to discuss his future role with the French team.

How do you feel now that your 2022 program has been officially announced?

It's quite stimulating! Obviously, I knew it was in the pipeline for a while. We had been working on this file for several weeks. I hope I won't have too many questions about my future (laughs). It's also good that the announcement comes before F2 resumes (in Saudi Arabia in 2 weeks, Editor's note). I can focus on that.

When were you told?

Officially, we reached an agreement at the end of last week. So it's quite recent, but we've been working on this file for a few months, from Sochi (Russia), mainly my manager Mark Webber and his wife Ann. We had to finalize the details. I wanted to stay in the family Alpine, show them my loyalty. I'm happy that they trust me for next season. There was a mutual interest in resolving the issue early.

Your name has been circulating at some point in theAlfa Romeo. Have you been in contact with them?

Personally, no. I don't know if my management had the opportunity to speak with them. From the start, I knew the chances there were pretty slim. I never thought it was a really serious option.

What is your feeling when you see Guanyu-Zhou get a starting place that you were also aiming for?

Naturally, I would have loved to be on the grid F1 in 2022 but I knew, quite realistically, that it would be very complicated. The support ofAlpine has been precious to me for several seasons. They helped me a lot. I wanted to remain loyal to them. If the opportunity at Alfa had been more realistic, who knows? But it would have been complicated to organize. In the end, I am not disappointed by the turn of events.

How do you think Zhou will do in F1, you who know him well throughAlpine Academy?

I spent quite a bit of time with Joe (the Europeanized name of Zhou, Editor’s note) at the factory, mainly at the gym. He's received a lot of negative messages on social media and I think it's particularly unfair, honestly. Of course, we all know that he benefits from financial support but he performs well on the track. He is 2nd in the championship, he has as many victories as me, and he was in the lead in the first half of the season. He doesn't just show up out of nowhere, without results.

Esteban Ocon has a long-term contract with Alpine. Fernando Alonso has been renewed and doesn't seem ready to hang up. VWere we promised a starting position for 2023?

No one made me any promises. For the moment, I am focusing on the role of reserve pilot. We'll see what happens next.

Will you ride competitively next year?

At the moment, I don't think so. I want to focus on the work that needs to be done to get to F1. Even if I don't race, it's beneficial to be in the F1 paddock as often as possible, to be immersed with Alpine. I will miss racing but I think you have to plan for the long term and not lose sight of the end goal. We're putting together a pretty intense testing program so I'll be riding quite often. It won't be in competition but I prefer to stay focused on F1 rather than spreading myself out by driving here and there. And I will not return to F2 next year.

Are you going to participate in Free Practice 1 sessions?

There is this story of Free Practice 1 session reserved for young drivers in the regulations. I would like to believe that I will have this opportunity, but I don't know more.

Your manager Mark Webber often says that you don't have generous patrons to support you. How rewarding is it to have already gotten there on merit?

As I said, I would have loved to be on the grid next year but this role of reserve is the best scenario. One of my first goals when I started racing was to become a professional driver and make a living from it. This will be the case next year. So I'm very happy to have reached this stage. It's not the ultimate goal of course, but I'm already proud of how far I've come. During my years in promotion formulas, I would not say that we experienced financial difficulties but we did not have the same means as others on the grid. So landing this role on merit is very satisfying.

Did you expect to rise through the ranks so quickly?

I surprised quite a few people, starting with myself! When I arrived in F3 with Prema, expectations were high because the team dominated the category so much. Although I was a beginner, I knew most of the drivers who were repeating so I knew I could manage. As for F2, however, I clearly exceeded my own expectations. I expected it to take two years but things went faster than expected. I am very happy about it.

Where do you think you have improved the most this season?

Clearly, qualifications are the area where we have made the most progress. The results show it (3 pole positions, more than any other driver, editor's note). I don't know where it comes from because I don't feel like I'm doing it any differently on my part. The team and I have worked very well together since the beginning. In F3, the car was already excellent so it was up to me to get the best out of it. In F2, the adjustment window is narrower, and Prema is not as dominant. It pushes me to understand the car better. I feel much more comfortable in my understanding of the car F2 than I was able to be in F3. It really helped me to know what the car needs to go fast. This is where the key lies.