--- title: "Today’s Alpine F1 Driver Announcement Was a Total Disaster" date: "2022-08-02" modified: "2022-08-02" authors: - name: "Jerry Perez" job_title: "Deputy Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jerry-perez" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/todays-alpine-f1-driver-announcement-was-a-total-disaster" categories: - "F1" - "News" - "Racing" --- # Today’s Alpine F1 Driver Announcement Was a Total Disaster ![]() *\Getty \* Someone somewhere is confused about Oscar Piastri's contract with [Alpine Formula 1](). It could be him, his manager Mark Webber, or the team itself, but there's some clear miscommunication on display in a very public way. Regardless, announcing your new F1 driver for next season only to be shot down by that very guy on Twitter is pretty embarrassing. Piastri is a well-known driver within the F1 fraternity, but not exactly a global name yet, so let me recap real quick. The Australian racer is the reigning F2 champion and an aspiring F1 racer. More importantly, he's been the recipient of lots of support—financial and otherwise—from Renault, who owns the Alpine brand and F1 team. He's also the squad's reserve driver. However, it was known that Webber was on the hunt to find Piastri an F1 seat for 2023. Without an open seat at Alpine until this week, though, it looked like Piastri would end up somewhere else. Things radically changed, as they often do in F1, when [Sebastian Vettel suddenly announced his retirement]() last week. Even more sudden was [Aston's snatching of Alonso](), who confirmed his move to the British squad on Monday. This was bad and good for Alpine. Bad, because it just lost its number one driver. Good, because it created a pathway to promote its young protege without having to play musical chairs up and down the grid. So, it wasn't a huge surprise when Alpine confirmed Piastri as its 2023 driver on Tuesday morning, just one day after Alonso's departure announcement. https://twitter.com/AlpineF1Team/status/1554500248432680960 https://twitter.com/OscarPiastri/status/1554527452231262210?s=20&t=V4UkSjaUXPRPTksPPI2uBg Not long after Alpine issued a press release confirming the move, Piastri dropped a bomb on [Twitter]() claiming none of this was true. That must have been why there weren't any quotes from him in the team's announcement. "I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year," Piastri said. "This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year." It's not often that an aspiring rookie so blatantly turns down an F1 contract. In fact, in my nearly 30 years of watching F1, I can't remember anything similar. Even more shocking is Piastri's direct statement: "I will not be driving for Alpine next year." He doesn't claim it's a small misunderstanding, or that they're sitting down at the table soon and will issue a clarification. No. It's flat-out denial. ![]() *ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - DECEMBER 12: Race winner Oscar Piastri of Australia and Prema Racing celebrates on the podium during the feature race of Round 8:Yas Island of the Formula 2 Championship at Yas Marina Circuit on December 12, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)* Someone really screwed up at Alpine, it seems, and the long-term effect of Piastri's situation will be big. If he's confident of having a seat elsewhere—and you'd have to be in order to decline an F1 offer—then the question is where? [Could he be replacing Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren]()? Or did he sign with Alfa Romeo? Amazingly, Piastri's situation is almost identical to [what IndyCar champion Alex Palou went through last month](). The Spanish racer had to debunk an announcement by Chip Ganassi Racing claiming it was retaining him for 2023; then, just a few hours later, McLaren also announced that it was hiring him. CGR is now suing Palou as he continues to race for the outfit with a chance at another title. Contracts are hard. *Got a tip? Email us at tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Jerry is responsible for upholding The Drive's ethos as an audience-first, enthusiast-driven car blog that serves up industry-leading news, reviews, culture, and motorsport coverage. Overseeing a staff of writers and editors from his home base in Indianapolis, he helps curate the site's daily rundown, as well as its medium- and long-term content strategies. Jerry joined The Drive in 2018 as a writer and worked as news editor and managing editor before becoming the deputy in 2023. As a lifelong car enthusiast and racing fan, Jerry believes that all cars are cool, but the people behind the machines are even cooler. This belief often gives The Drive a slightly different focus from most other car sites, where we explore the humanity behind the machines. When he's not obsessing over the day's biggest stories or hanging out at a race track, Jerry can be found behind the wheel of a car, most likely sharing a laugh with his teenage son or daughter. ### Author social links [Instagram]()