Tom Coronel believes that Williams may have signed a contract with this highly-rated talent
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Tom Coronel thinks that Oscar Piastri may have signed a contract with Williams
Williams has not had an ideal start to the season. They sit at the bottom of the points table, with only 3 points to their name. All of these were scored by Alex Albon. Aside from a lack of points, the car has also been consistently disappointing during qualifying sessions. The car naturally lacks downforce, according to Nicholas Latifi and Williams engineering chief, Dave Robson.
While Albon has at times fought back to finish in the points or higher than he had started, Nicholas Latifi has not been able to do that. Latifi apparently lacks confidence in the car, and along with Haas’ Mick Schumacher, is one of two drivers to not score a point yet this season. There have been talks of him being replaced for quite a while now.
Tom Coronel, who is currently driving for Comtouyou in the World Touring Car Cup feels that Latifi may have already been replaced behind the scenes. Speaking on the RacingNews365 podcast, Coronel said that following Latifi’s poor start to the season, they may already have signed Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri as a replacement.
Also Read: Williams’ engineer Dave Robson reveals the reasons for Nicholas Latifi’s struggles
Tom Coronel: “We will see Oscar Piastri drive for Williams”
Oscar Piastri is among the highest-rated talents in F1. He is from Alpine’s own driver academy and currently serves as their reserve driver. Piastri certainly has the wind in his sails from his time in the junior races.
In three consecutive years, he has won three different levels of the junior (or feeder) series. In 2019, he won the Formula Renault Eurocup. This was followed up by the Formula 3 championship in 2020 and the Formula 2 championship in 2021. Piastri would have wanted to continue his momentum – and get a seat in F1, but it did not come to be.
According to Tom Coronel, Piastri may drive for Williams in 2023, as part of a loan move.
He said: “We will, of course, see the Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri drive there [in Williams]. That seems to have already been signed in Monaco. I don’t know when they’re going to come out with it. That’s a strong rumour.”
“If you want to mature someone in Formula 1, like Piastri, then Alpine has set aside a decent budget for this: a budget to park him and get him used to Formula 1.”
If this happens, then Coronel also feels that Alpine will be keeping their driver lineup unchanged for some time. Esteban Ocon has a contract with Alpine that will see him stay with them till at least 2024, and if Piastri is loaned to Williams, then Fernando Alonso may also stay with Alpine.
He said: “You wouldn’t loan out a driver like Piastri. You don’t put him in a Williams for anything. That means [Alpine] would like to keep their driver line-up unchanged.”
Oscar Piastri in an F1 car to get experience, and Fernando Alonso staying with them in the sport is certainly good news, and it would seem like the ideal solution for Alpine for the next few years.
Also Read: Williams pays hefty $25k fine to the FIA for breaching the financial regulations for 2021
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)