"He didn’t say he was going to go"- Alpine CEO 'expected a bit more loyalty' from Oscar Piastri

Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi revealed that Oscar Piastri had been offered a seat in Williams for 2023 during the starting months of the 2022 F1 season.

2021 F2 champion Piastri, who currently still races in F2, has also been given an opportunity at McLaren for the 2023 F1 season. But before that, he was a reserve driver for Alpine. Laurent Rossi said in an interview that the Australian was given an opportunity to drive for Williams in 2023. But he was surprised when Piastri's management team disclosed that he might have a chance at McLaren for the same year. Rossi said that he was disappointed:

"It was a bit disappointing. We felt it was a bit strange because we expected a bit more loyalty considering how much we put in there. He didn’t say he was going to go. He said he had an opportunity."

During this time, however, it was clear that both Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris had their contracts for the 2023 season with McLaren. As a result, it was unlikely that Oscar Piastri would move to the team. Rossi was still hoping that he might get into Williams next year. Since he had invested a lot in him, he expected him to be more loyal to the team.

---

Rossi believed Oscar Piastri would have been perfect for a 'junior team'

Before the speculation between Oscar Piastri and Alpine started, Rossi believed that it would have been best for the Australian to start with a junior team and then move to a major team like other drivers have done in their careers.

"Like George [Russell] before him, who went to Williams before returning to Mercedes. Like Charles [Leclerc] who went to Sauber before returning to Ferrari. Like Max [Verstappen] and like Sebastian [Vettel], who both raced for Toro Rosso before driving for Red Bull. They all did a ‘junior’ team before moving up."

However, Alpine team principal Otmar Sfaznauer thought he was best suited for the team after Fernando Alonso disclosed that he would be moving to Aston Martin for 2023. The team soon announced that Oscar Piastri would be filling in for the Spaniard next season. However, in a controversial post, Piastri announced that no official contract had been signed between him and the team and that he would not be driving for them.

Amidst all of this, Ricciardo announced that he would be leaving McLaren at the end of the season after they terminated his contract on mutual ground. Within a few days of the announcement, the team signed Oscar Piastri for the 2023 season, leaving Alpine and Laurent Rossi in frustration.