Ex-Alpine Team Boss Exposes Details Behind Oscar Piastri Contract 'Incompetency'

Saajan Jogia | 3 Hours Ago

May 2, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; McLaren driver Oscar Piastri (81) during a press conference in advance of the Miami Grand Prix at the Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-Imagn Images / John David Mercer-Imagn Images

Former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer has revealed crucial details from 2022 when his team was on course to sign Oscar Piastri as a full-time F1 driver but failed to fulfill contractual obligations. To cover up the error, Alpine wrongly used Szafnauer's photo on a press release without his knowledge.

Following Fernando Alonso's announcement of his move from Alpine to Aston Martin for the 2023 season, Alpine thought to replace him with the Australian Rookie driver. However, in the two-week gap in between, Piastri had already signed a contract with McLaren, replacing Daniel Ricciardo for the 2023 season.

Alpine refused to back down, which led to the case being taken to the Contract Recognition Board, where McLaren emerged victorious. Szafnauer later realized that the inclusion of his photo in Alpine’s press release might have been a ploy from people within the team to target him and hold him responsible for the blunder made by Alpine. His suspicions were confirmed after he inquired with the person responsible for the press release, who disclosed that she had been instructed to include his image. Revealing the ugly truth on the High Performance Podcast, he said:

“In November, there was a two-week time window where it could have been done, and it wasn’t.

“Now my point is, come the CRB [Contract Recognition Board], where Alpine lost because the filings were incorrectly done, we put out a press release, and the press release has my image on it.

“So number one, nothing to do with me. I wasn’t even there. But number two, the communications department that didn’t report to me thought it was a good idea to deflect the incompetency of those that were Alpine at the time by putting my picture on the release.”

Having asked the lady who drafted the press release, Szafnauer continued:

“She said, ‘I’m sorry, I was told to do this.’

“But it just showed at the time that there were some people within the Alpine organisation that were untrustworthy and that were out to get me, so they weren’t working with me.”

Szafnauer parted ways with Alpine in mid-2023, along with several senior team members, as the team opted to appoint Bruno Famin as team boss for nearly a year. Famin has since shifted to a different division within parent company Renault, with Oliver Oakes stepping in as the new team principal after the Formula summer break.