Christian Horner and the missed opportunity to sign Oscar Piastri

It has not yet arrived in Formula 1 that he has already made a lot of talk about him. He is Oscar piastri. We no longer present it. On his course in promotional formulas, the Australian crushed everything, winning the Formula Renault (2019), the F3 (2020) and F2 (2021) consecutively. A first in history. Member of the Renault Academy, which has since become theAlpine Academy, after his title in 2019, the Melbourne native was promised a starting place at Alpine before finally bouncing back towards McLaren. But before joining the A fléché training center, Oscar Piastri could have represented another sector, that of Red Bull.

Boss of the Austrian team and very attached to his team's junior program with the Red Bull Junior Team, Christian Horner has never hidden his admiration for Oscar Piastri. The Australian could even have worn the colors of the Milton Keynes firm before his move to F3 for the 2020 season.

« He drove for Arden (the team founded by Christian Horner) an F4 (British in 2017) and in Formula Renault, and he has obvious talent, advanced the main Red Bull team in the last episode of the F1's Beyond the Grid podcast. We had the opportunity to take an interest in him at the time but we didn't pursue that lead. It's something I regret."

As for the situation of Oscar Piastri, initially barred from Alpine before joining McLaren for 2023 with a view to starting, Christian Horner indicated that such a situation would not have occurred if the Australian had been in the Red Bull fold. The leaders would have immediately locked it for several years.

« If he had been a pilot here, there would have been no chance that he would not be under contract for the long term., continues the Englishman. But like I said, I wasn't there, it's hard to judge what was promised or reneged or whatever... But it's sure it was unexpected (the imbroglio with Alpine/McLaren), probably in several respects. » A missed chance for which Christian Horner must still blame himself today.

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