Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi wonât rule out a reunion with Oscar Piastri despite the spectacular breakdown in relations between the French team and its former Australian junior star.
Piastriâs split with Alpine was one of last yearâs major storylines. The Melburnian had been brought through the junior formulae with Enstone and was handed a reserve position with the squad last season, but he unexpectedly defected to McLaren when it became clear Woking had lost patience with Daniel Ricciardo.
Alpine attempted to hold onto Piastri, but the FIA Contract Recognition Board found that it had failed to offer him a valid deal to keep him in 2023 and unanimously sided with McLaren.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThereâs a cruel irony to the fact that Oscar Piastri has sacrificed and grafted for nine years to earn a Formula 1 debut that lasted just 13 laps.
Itâs safe to say it wasnât the maiden outing as a Formula 1 driver the 21-year-old was hoping for.
The tone of a career is rarely set by the first race, certainly not for drivers of Piastriâs calibre, but the character of season sometimes is, and for the second year running McLaren, one of the greatest teams in Formula 1 history, embarrassed itself at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSAussie rising star Oscar Piastri will get just six months to prove that he belongs in Formula 1 before he risks being turfed out, according to Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle.
Piastri has enjoyed an illustrious junior career on his way to the premier class, with three successive championships, including rookie titles in Formula 3 and Formula 2.
Despite spending a year on the sidelines as an Alpine reserve driver, he remains one of the most highly anticipated rookies in recent years thanks to his sparkling CV.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSItâs been a long 12 months in the life of Oscar Piastri.
From the highs of winning his junior titles to the purgatory of a year on the sidelines and the low of being painted as a Formula 1 villain, the 21-year-old Melburnian has borne much weight on his shoulders on the way to finally signing up with the historic McLaren team for his long-awaited F1 debut.
It means he arrives in the top tier of the sport already well seasoned by its cruel and unpredictable twists and turns â and with the reputational baggage that comes with that too.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSPiastri âopposite of Danielâ as debut looms; Stroll fitness in doubt for first race: F1 Pit Talk
Oscar Piastriâs long-awaited debut looms large this week, with just days remaining before the heralded Aussie finally turns a wheel in anger in the premier class.
But despite cracking F1 in his own right after a glittering junior career, comparisons with McLaren predecessor Daniel Ricciardo are never far from hand.
While both drivers have moved on from last yearâs messy silly season merry-go-round, itâs now up to Piastri to carve out a place for himself in the F1 landscape.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSAlpine principal Otmar Szafnauer says âsuperfastâ Jack Doohan can get himself a Formula 1 drive if he wins this yearâs Formula 2 championship.
Doohan was announced as the French teamâs reserve driver this week, putting him next in line to one of its full-time race seats currently occupied by Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.
The 20-year-old Australian will fulfil his F1 obligations alongside his second full-time campaign in F2 after finishing sixth last season. Heâd previously finished runner-up in Formula 3 and Formula 3 Asia in 2021 and 2020 respectively.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSOscar Piastri says heâs under more pressure from his glittering junior career than his messy 2022 split with Alpine as he prepares to make his long-awaited Formula 1 debut next month.
Piastriâs crumbling relationship with Alpine was one of last yearâs major storylines despite the Aussie rising star spending the season on the sidelines as a reserve driver.
The Melburnian and his manager, nine-time grand prix winner Mark Webber, had grown frustrated with the French teamâs lack of urgency in drawing up a new contract securing him a place on the 2023 grid.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSAustralian young gun Oscar Piastri says he doesnât expect to fall into the same trap as Daniel Ricciardo as he prepares for his Formula 1 debut with McLaren.
Piastri has replaced Ricciardo in Wokingâs line-up this season after his compatriot struggled for two years to adapt to a line of difficult-to-drive cars.
Ricciardo was trounced by younger teammate Lando Norris over two gruelling campaigns as he tried in vain to change his driving style to suit his machinery.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSDaniel Ricciardo has hit back at critics of Oscar Piastri and Mark Webber, saying there is no bad blood between Australians in Formula 1 despite him losing his seat to his younger compatriot.
Piastri was announced as Ricciardoâs 2023 McLaren replacement after the British team sacked the eight-time race winner in the middle of the year.
It was later revealed that McLaren had signed a deal for the Aussie Formula 3 and Formula 2 champion in June, two months before it entered negotiations to end Ricciardoâs contract a year early.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSAlpine boss Otmar Szafnauer says heâs happy that he lost the battle for Oscar Piastriâs contract because his team has ended up with a better driver line-up.
Alpine went through a public break-up with former protĂ©gĂ© Piastri when the Australian revealed in the middle of the season that he would leave the French teamâs junior program to join McLaren as a full-time driver in 2023.
Szafnauer had attempted to promote his then reserve driver into the seat vacated by Fernando Alonso only to find Piastri was committed elsewhere.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSOscar Piastri has turned his first laps as a full-time driver in Formula 1 in the post-season test for McLaren.
The Melburnianâs official debut as a driver in motorsportâs premier class has been a long time coming since winning the Formula 2 championship last year.
He was benched this season by his former Alpine team ahead of a mooted 2023 debut before sensationally announcing his defection to McLaren in the middle of the year, roiling the driver market.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSThe 2022 Formula 1 season is over. The 2023 season is about to begin.
In the shadow of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, all 10 teams will take to the Yas Marina track again for a single-day test that they all hope will give them a run-up to 2023.
And while thereâll be three rookies on track aiming to maximise their seat time, none will have as much of a spotlight on them as Aussie Oscar Piastri.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSFew drivers yet to drive a modern Formula 1 car have had their movements as heavily scrutinised as Oscar Piastri, whose sensational disruption to this yearâs driver market as one of the biggest stories of the season.
The Melburnian will move to McLaren next season as Daniel Ricciardoâs replacement, but the timing of his switch from Alpine has been the subject of much speculation given the needle between the two teams and the controversy around his intended split.
But a French magazine has spotted Piastri in a private test for McLaren â albeit with some notable differences to tests set up for other drivers.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSOscar Piastri re-joins us on In The Fast Lane to discuss his rollercoaster of emotions on being named as a McLaren driver for 2023 (01:39), what it means to be joining a team with McLaren’s history of success and champion drivers (06:29), how having a start date for his F1 race career has sharpened his focus (09:36), what he’s expecting from new teammate Lando Norris (12:35), getting a call from Daniel Ricciardo after he was named as his compatriot’s successor at McLaren (14:16) and his excitement for his first true home grand prix at Albert Park next April (16:07).
BWT Alpine F1 Team reserve driver Oscar Piastri joins hosts Matt Clayton and Michael Lamonato to discuss the specifics of his new role, staying physically and mentally ready in case he’s called into action (04:55), how he’s satisfying his thirst for competition without racing and the lessons he’s already learned from the team’s race drivers, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.
Offering Aussie Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri to McLaren as a reserve driver was a sign of goodwill from his Alpine Formula 1 team ahead of an uncertain future on the sidelines, according to Sky Sports F1 pundit Ted Kravitz.
Alpine announced during the final three days of testing that it would offer its rising star to McLaren in the event either Lando Norris or Daniel Ricciardo were unable to compete and if existing reserves Nyck de Vries, Stoffel Vandoorne and Paul di Resta were unavailable.
The announcement was unrelated to Ricciardoâs COVID diagnosis, and the McLaren driver is expected to be in the car for this weekendâs first race.
Continue reading on FOX SPORTSAustralia’s reigning Formula 3Âź World Champion and Formula 2Âź racer Oscar Piastri discusses how soon he could graduate to Formula 1Âź, the influence compatriot Mark Webber has had on his career, winning on his first weekend in F2Âź in Bahrain and the strongest memories from his first taste of F1Âź machinery in 2020.