Sacked Alpine boss refuses to take blame for infamous Oscar Piastri contract saga
Otmar Szafnauer made it clear that he had nothing to do with the entire debacle surrounding Oscar Piastri and Alpine.
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Otmar Szafnauer and Oscar Piastri (images via IMAGO)
Oscar Piastri made headlines in Formula 1 before even competing in a Grand Prix. The Australian driver publicly rejected Alpine’s offer and joined McLaren for 2023. Now, then-Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer has shed light on the entire fiasco.
Szafnauer joined Alpine in March 2022 after leaving Aston Martin. The 60-year-old claimed that Alpine had signed Piastri in November of 2021. However, Otmar Szafnauer pointed out that the contract was not actually signed by Oscar Piastri at that time.
I remember that I had nothing to do with not signing Oscar Piastri correctly. That was done in November and I started in March. In November 2021, when the Piastri contract was signed, which was not actually signed.
Otmar Szafnauer said on High Performance Podcast
The former Alpine boss admitted that he had no idea regarding the Australian driver’s situation with the team. Otmar Szafnauer highlighted that the Enstone-based squad did not send the contract correctly to Piastri. As such, legally, it was as if Oscar Piastri had not signed with the team. Ultimately, this allowed him to switch to McLaren.
I started in March, I had no idea. They did not send that contract correctly and therefore it was as if it was never signed.
Otmar Szafnauer asserted
Otmar Szafnauer admits Alpine missed ‘two-week’ window to sign Oscar Piastri
Szafnauer revealed that Oscar Piastri’s junior contract with Alpine had an option that allowed the Enstone-based team to call up the Australian. However, this was not executed properly. Moreover, the French team could’ve signed Piastri during a two-week window, but Renault works team failed to do so. As such, the 23-year-old was able to ditch his former team despite being supported by the outfit in his F2 days.
Alpine had an option to have him as a Formula 1 driver, that contract was never executed. There was a two week period in which it could be done and it was not done.
Otmar Szafnauer noted
Certainly, Piastri created an embarrassing situation for Alpine. The French team was left without a choice but to bring in Pierre Gasly from the Red Bull family. This entire debacle showed the problems within the top leadership of Renault’s motorsports division.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2383 Articles Published)