Oscar Piastri 'hasn't backed the wrong horse' by choosing McLaren over Alpine, says F1 commentator

David Croft, the British Formula 1 commentator, backed Oscar Piastri's decision to move to McLaren instead of Alpine for the 2023 season.

While many believe the Australian would have had better opportunities at Alpine, given their recent performances, Croft stated that in the long-term, Piastri's choice will prove to be the right one. Alpine finished above McLaren in the 4th position in the constructors' championship.

He believes that if Lando Norris ever decides to leave the team, Oscar Piastri will be the number 1 driver in that scenario, which could help him boost his Formula 1 career. He told Sky F1:

"Piastri hasn’t backed the wrong horse. Oscar Piastri, in doing what he and his management did in the summer, decided that Williams were not the option and McLaren were."

"Long-term, I think McLaren are the better option for Oscar Piastri because, if Lando Norris does leave, then he actually becomes that de facto leader."

After Fernando Alonso announced his departure from Alpine in the upcoming season, the team had a vacant seat. Their first choice for the seat was Oscar Piastri (former F2 Champion), and so they announced him as their driver.

However, Piastri took to social media to reveal that the team did not make this decision with his consent and that he "will not be driving for Alpine" next year.

A month after the announcement by Piastri, McLaren confirmed that the Australian will be driving for them in the upcoming season as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo.

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Croft believes Oscar Piastri's future is secure with McLaren

Given Fernando Alonso's exit from the team, David Croft believes that the situation at Alpine was a little complicated. But at the same time, he feels that McLaren can help Piastri in the future. He said:

"Because they were the two options for him at that time. Fernando leaving [Alpine], they complicated matters somewhat, but the decision had already been made."

Croft also talked about the team's future. He stated that there are many upgrades that could come in for them when their wind tunnel comes online. If the wind tunnel is used properly by McLaren, they can build the aerodynamics of the car well enough to be much more competitive than they were in 2022. Croft added:

“I think big improvements need to be found. Their wind tunnel doesn’t come online until halfway through the 2023 season. Until that wind tunnel is operational and working and correlated properly, McLaren won’t be designing the cars they need to design to beat the likes of Alpine regularly, let alone take on the Mercedes and the Ferraris and the Red Bulls in this world.”