Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer believes Oscar Piastri has a contract that will oblige the Australian rider to ride for the team next season. If Piastri refuses to comply, Alpine reserves the right to claim monetary damages.
Otmar Szafnauer: “We have a contract with Piastri, which he signed in November. We spoke to our lawyers and they said it is a binding contract where we can put Oscar in one of our cars in 2023. That is why we have issued a statement that he will fight for us.
In addition, another part of the contract allowed us to loan Oscar to another team and return it in 2024. We expected to continue working with Fernando Alonso in 2023 and to receive the Oscar in 2024. That is why I have said in all press conferences that Piastri will be performing in Formula 1, either for us or on loan if Alonso stays. For some reason, ask him yourself, Fernando decided to move to Aston Martin and we started working out a contract with Piastri.
Let’s see what legal ramifications this story will lead to. We believe we have a contract that obliges Oscar to play for us. If for some reason Piastri isn’t driving our car, which I think he will be, then that’s okay – I’ve already had 14 calls from riders interested in racing for Alpine.
We are fourth in the constructors’ championship, Esteban Ocon is a strong partner, we have plans to fight for higher places, we have our own power plant and 850 employees. It is not surprising that so many riders called me, but of the fourteen candidates only four remained on the final list. And Piastri is one of them.
We’ll see where our legal battle with Oscar goes. According to the contract, we were obliged to support his career before we got to Formula 1 by investing a lot of money. Keep in mind that it drove 3,500 kilometers during the seven days of testing last year, and this is not a cheap pleasure. The cost of the plant alone was 1,750,000 euros. And also payment for the work of mechanics, flights.
We have spent a lot of money preparing Piastri for Formula 1. If he is not driving for us, it would make sense to demand compensation.
Source: F1 News
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