Oscar Piastri Reflects on the ‘Unfunny’ Alpine F1 Contract Saga That Changed His Career

Oscar Piastri’s F1 career got off to a rocky start ever since he joined Alpine as a reserve driver. Despite being on the sidelines for the entirety of the 2022 season, the team prematurely announced that Piastri would be racing for them in 2023. The Aussie disappointingly announced how the French constructor revealed false news, and that he wasn’t racing for them.

In the junior categories, Oscar Piastri managed to win both the F3 and F2 championships in his rookie season, placing him among the likes of Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and others. Piastri ultimately joined McLaren in 2023, and in hindsight, it was probably for the better. The 24-year-old recalled the controversial time back then and how it was more difficult for him than anticipated.

Fernando Alonso‘s shocking move to Aston Martin back then meant that Alpine announced Oscar Piastri as their next driver to race for them. However, according to reports, Piastri had already signed a deal with McLaren and the move was impending for 2023. The Aussie recalled that his clarification of social media and the entire ordeal were bound to be a big story.

Oscar Piastri hinted that there were several reasons behind playing out things the way he did. Although Piastri can look back at the incident and laugh about it now, it certainly wasn’t a humorous thing for him back then. The entire matter shifted to a whole other level, with FIA’s Contract Recognition Board (CRB) stepping in and deciding in McLaren’s favor for the Aussie’s seat.

I kind of knew that it was going to be a pretty big story, There were reasons for doing that, it wasn’t just me going out of my ways to announce to the world that I’m not racing. I mean, I certainly look back on it now with some laughs. Definitely at the time, it wasn’t so funny. It obviously went to the CRB. Things were in my favour, but that was another pretty tense moment.

Oscar Piastri said on the Off the Grid.

Oscar Piastri reflects on the ‘tough’ 2022 season as a sidelined driver

Oscar Piastri was among the hot rising talents back in 2021 and was on a hot championship-winning streak in F2. Despite Alpine investing heavily in him, he wasn’t provided an F1 seat in 2022 and was only a reserve driver.

The French constructor trusted Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon to be a better fit for the role than taking a risk with Piastri in 2022. As such, the almost-championship-winner in 2025 has opened up on the tough time back then and how it was not racing at the pinnacle of motorsport.

The Aussie recalled that it was tough not to go racing for so long despite being a promising driver. Though his reserve driver role gave him half the experience of being a full-time F1 driver, it still wasn’t enough for him. Oscar Piastri learned a lot of things off-track, but it was definitely a tough time for him not go racing on the track for the full year.

It was certainly a tough time, Naturally, as a racing driver, you want to go racing. That year, not racing was tough, definitely. It did allow me to view some things from the outside a little bit easier: being part of a weekend, understanding what media commitments are going to be like, what the sponsor commitments are going to be like, just the general rhythm of the season. I learned a few things about that, but it was a tough time.

Oscar Piastri noted.

Certainly, Oscar Piastri’s move to McLaren might go down in history as one of the greatest decisions by a driver in terms of team selection. Woking went on to achieve two consecutive constructors’ titles while Alpine failed to even make it to the victory lane over the past seasons. Hence, Piastri is definitely happier now than before as his move helped him fight for the 2025 title, and possibly even win it in 2026.

Read More: Oscar Piastri Has ‘Forever’ Belief in McLaren Despite 2025 Sabotage Accusations

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