Szafnauer Hoped Piastri ‘Had a Bit More Integrity’ as Contract Dispute Nears Conclusion

Otmar Szafnauer feels Oscar Piastri should have had ‘a bit more integrity’ after the Australian opted not to honour his contract with the BWT Alpine F1 Team in 2023 in favour of a move to the McLaren F1 Team.

Piastri was announced as Fernando Alonso’s replacement at Alpine after the Spaniard opted to move to the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team next season, only for the Australian to deny the move mere hours later.

The whole affair is heading to the Contract Recognition Board (CRB) next week, with both Alpine and McLaren laying claim to a legal contract with the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Champion.

But Szafnauer, the Team Principal at Alpine, says he wished Piastri would honour the contract he signed with them last year and take up his place alongside Esteban Ocon in 2023.

“He’s a promising young driver,” Szafnauer said to Sky Sports F1. “He hasn’t driven in F1 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 F1.

“And 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.”

Szafnauer says the team has not started any meaningful discussions with other drivers about who may join Alpine next season if Piastri leaves for McLaren, although the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Mick Schumacher have been muted as possible replacements.

“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,” he said.

“The team speak very highly of Daniel and his time here. We haven’t had those strategic discussions yet, but everybody I ask, the engineering team, they really speak highly of his skill as a driver and as a team motivator.”