According to Szafnauer, Piastri was “smiling and grateful” when Alpine announced his tenure

The image was quite amusing to see. The Main Teams ofAston Martin,Alpine and McLaren, side by side at a press conference F1, while their teams largely animated the summer with the Alonso-Piastri affair. Andreas Seidl, for obvious legal reasons, said almost nothing, continuing to talk about speculation regarding the affair Oscar piastri while still refusing to admit that a contract was indeed signed between the Australian and McLaren. Mike Krack, for his part, reiterated his happiness to see Fernando Alonso join the Aston Martin adventure fromAlpine, emphasizing the unique combo of speed, determination and experience that the Spaniard will bring to them.

At the center of the game, and between his two colleagues, Otmar Szafnauer centralized the questions. Concerning Fernando Alonso first. In essence, he does not blame the Spaniard, arguing that he was at the end of his contract and therefore free to engage with whomever he wished. In any case, the American has no interest in criticizing the native of Oviedo, it would indeed be the best way to alienate him, while there are still nine races and a fourth constructors' place to go for. 

Otmar Szafnauer, surrounded by Mike Krack and Andreas Seidl. © Paul Vaicle / DPPI

Otmar Szafnauer, however, admitted that he was not fundamentally surprised by the departure of the double world champion, since he had “heard a few rumors on Sunday”. But he admitted to having been surprised at the time of Aston Martin's announcement on Monday morning, assuring that Alonso, on Sunday evening in Hungary, had told him that there was no “no need to rush”, and that it would be during the holidays “on his boat in Greece”. Very quickly, obviously, the questions concerned Oscar Piastri, who signed for 2023 with two teams. From November with Alpine, the team of which he is the current reserve driver, and more recently with McLaren, replacing Daniel Ricciardo. As a reminder, the case will be studied from Monday by the CRB, the FIA ​​contract recognition office. The lawyers will decide which of the two contracts is valid and the two teams will have to comply with their decision, as stipulated in the Concorde agreements they signed. 

Otmar Szafnauer nevertheless detailed the reasons why Alpine decided to refer the matter to the CRB. “I think this is the next logical step to activate when you consider having a valid contract with a driver, he explained. This has happened in the past, when Jenson Button signed for Williams but that BAR Honda exercised its option on him. He wanted to go to Williams, but BAR Honda won at CRB and that didn't stop them from maintaining an excellent relationship that took them to the title in 2009 even though the team was called something else at that time. »

Not sure we'll see the Australian in a suit again anytime soon Alpine. © Xavi Bonilla / DPPI

But ultimately, what is the point of fighting for a driver who has publicly announced that he does not want to ride for Alpine in 2023? For the money of course. At the house of Alpine, we leave all possibilities open, but seeing the Australian ride for the A arrow in 2023 is implausible, even in the event of victory in front of the CRB. The idea is to recover from McLaren the money invested in the major preparation of the champion of F2 in title, which amounts to several million euros.

Regarding the upcoming decision of the CRB, the main team ofAlpine was confident, detailing the contract signed by Piastri last November. “I don't like to talk too much about the details of contracts but there are two things I will say. First, there was never a clause with a July 31 deadline as I read everywhere. Then the contract was through 2024, with an option on the team's side at the end of 2023. There's a lot more to it than that, but that's all I can say.". Finally, Otmar also spoke about the announcement of the tenure of Oscar Piastri, which made no mention of any reaction from the principal concerned. “Before the announcement, I went to see Oscar, who was in the simulator at the time. He smiled and was grateful. And then we published the press release very quickly”. A smile for the occasion, no doubt! 

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