Oscar Piastri reveals ‘breakdown in trust’ with Alpine led to McLaren switch

Oscar Piastri, the driver who was the focus of a tug of war between McLaren and Alpine over his services for 2023, says he chose to leave Alpine after a breakdown in trust with the team, adding that the way in which he was dealt with by team boss Otmar Szafnauer was “bizarre and upsetting”.

Piastri will race for McLaren next year after the FIA’s contract recognition board (CRB) ruled McLaren was the only team with a valid contract with the Australian for next year.

The reigning Formula 2 champion signed a contract with McLaren on July 4 and said he did so after Alpine, which had funded a large proportion of his junior career, was unable to give him a concrete offer for a drive in F1 the following year.

Alpine had originally planned to place Piastri at Williams in 2023 in the belief that Fernando Alonso would remain a part of its team. But when Alonso signed a deal on August 1 to move to Aston Martin next year, Alpine announced Piastri as its driver for 2023 despite the McLaren contract already being in place.

“The CRB ruling has confirmed I didn’t have a contract for the 2023 season [with Alpine],” Piastri told Formula1.com. “I was free to choose my destiny — and I felt McLaren was a great opportunity. They were very straightforward and very keen and enthusiastic to have me. To be completely honest, there was a lack of clarity around my future at the team at Alpine.

“They publicly stated they wished to continue with Fernando for at least one or two more years. I respect that. But after spending the year out, my hopes were firmly set on an Alpine seat and the lack of clarity and, similarly to Fernando, a bit of a strange feeling in negotiations, it didn’t feel like it was the right decision for me [to stay around].

“The lack of clarity around my future, and ultimately a breakdown in trust, I felt the very attractive offer of McLaren and the positive dealings with them thus far were all reasons why I felt McLaren was where I was best off for the future.”

Alpine announced Piastri as a driver for 2023 on Aug. 2 when the Australian was working at its factory on the driver-in-loop simulator. Team principal Otmar Szafnauer said last week that when he informed Piastri of the news, the F2 champion simply smiled and said “thank you”.

In his interview with Formula1.com, Piastri said his reaction was not intended to be misleading but was a result of being put in an awkward situation.

“That was a bizarre and frankly upsetting episode,” he said. “It was done…