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Oscar Piastri has been the target of some harsh words from Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer. Speaking to SkySports F1 before the F1 Belgian GP weekend began, Szafneur was questioned about his views on the Australian, to which the Alpine boss said that he had that hoped Oscar Piastri would have had "a bit more integrity."
According to Szafnauer, Oscar Piastri had signed a contract with the team, which had to be honored. He said:
“He’s a promising young driver who hasn’t driven in Formula 1 yet and my wish for Oscar was that he had a bit more integrity. He signed a piece of paper as well back in November and we’ve done everything on our end of the bargain to prepare him for Formula 1. His end of the bargain was to either drive for us, or take a seat where we would place him, for the next three years and I just wish Oscar would have remembered what he signed in November and what he signed up to.”
When questioned about what the next course of action would be, the Alpine boss revealed that the case would be put forward to the Contract Recognition Board on Monday and the team would plan its next course of action after that. He said:
“I think the right thing for us to do is to go to the CRB on Monday, see how that pans out and then start looking at some negotiations in earnest. "
When questioned if Daniel Ricciardo was an option if Oscar Piastri does not drive for the team next season, the Alpine boss was open to the idea and said:
“The team speak very highly of Daniel and his time here. We haven’t had those strategic discussions yet but everyone I asked, the engineering team, they really speak highly of his skill as a driver and as a team motivator.”
Oscar Piastri smiled and was grateful when he was told about the drive
Arguably one of the more damning verdicts from Otmar about the Australian was made during the team principals' press conference. The Alpine boss revealed that the driver was in Enstone and was informed he would be driving for the team in the 2023 F1 season before the press release was made. Otmar said:
“I told Oscar [Piastri] before the announcement was made. He happened to be in the simulator, so I went and found him, and he smiled and was thankful. We made the release very quickly.”
Not many would have thought so, but the Alpine-Oscar Piastri saga is turning uglier by the day. It will be interesting to see what decision the Contract Recognition Board makes on Monday.
