The Australian, until now a reserve driver, will strengthen McLaren while the figures of Szafnauer and Rossi are weakened.
Early on Saturday, when not even the F3s had warmed up at Zandvoort, Otmar Szafnauer I went to the official FIA press conference like a sheep going to the slaughterhouse. Alpine’s boss had breakfasted on an interview from Oscar Piastri in which the young driver accused the French team of “annoying”, “strange” behavior and a “lack of clarity” that ended up precipitating his signing for McLaren. Exactly one month after the goodbye of Fernando AlonsoSzafnauer permanently lost the talent called to succeed the Spaniard.
He was barely able to maintain his composure. main team from Alpine, a squire whipped by the gale and who must urgently redirect the course. The first step, after losing Alonso and Piastri, will be to find a partner to Stephen Ocon. As Szafnauer announced this morning, Alpine has a “great demand” for that vacancy, so it will take “a little time” to deliberate. for now, Pierre Gasley Y Mike Schumacher are the names that sound the most for the paddock.
Despite the efforts to appear normal, the truth is that both Szafnauer and laurent rossi, CEO of Alpine, face a critical situation. Especially after Friday’s resolution by the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board (CRB), which rejected any financial compensation from McLaren for the departure of Piastri, trained at the Alpine academy since 2020.
“Lack of clarity in the negotiation”
The conclusion to the legal mess of recent weeks is that the Australian never had a contract with Alpine until after 2022, so he was free to sign for another team. Therefore, from 2023 to partner in Woking with lando norriswhile the French team will have to pay half a million euros between the compensation to its former pilot and the costs of the process.
As if that were not enough, Piastri has added gasoline to the fire with some statements where he does not leave his former bosses in a good place. “After my year as a substitute, I had pinned my hopes on a seat at Alpine. However, after the lack of clarity in the negotiations, as happened with Fernando, it did not seem to me that staying was the right decision,” revealed the promising pilot, sponsored by Mark Webber.
Piastri used the adjectives “strange” and “annoying” when describing an encounter in the simulator at the Enstone factory, when his bosses informed him of its continuity. Asked about that episode, Szafnauer denied pestering his pilot. “Oscar was in the simulator. When he finished the session, he gave him the announcement to congratulate him. He smiled and said thank you,” the Alpine boss explained.
Reinforce direct rivals
To somewhat take the pressure off, Szafnauer wanted to stress that Piastri had signed last November, when he hadn’t even landed at Enstone. Even without naming him, it seemed like a way to hold someone responsible. Marcin Budkowskihis predecessor in office.
In any case, the departure of two drivers to two direct rivals such as McLaren and Aston Martin, is a severe setback for the Alpine leadership. And it is difficult to take for granted the continuity of the ambitious project led by Luca de Meo, CEO of the Renault Group. For now, the minimum objective in the remaining eight races is to maintain fourth place in the Constructors’ World Championship. Because the 20 points over McLaren does not seem like a definitive margin in any way.
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