"The pressure will certainly be there" - Alpine wants to quickly find an F1 seat for Oscar Piastri

Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer has revealed that his team is looking to “quickly find” an F1 seat for their reserve driver Oscar Piastri for the 2023 season. After securing the F2 championship last season, Piastri has taken a break from racing to serve as a full-time reserve and simulator driver for Alpine in the hopes of being ready for an F1 seat within short notice.

Given Piastri’s pedigree, Szafnauer believes Alpine will be under pressure in the coming months to find him a seat for next year. Speaking to Motorsport Deutschland, he said:

“Oscar [Piastri] is a wonderful young man. He is well prepared and very ambitious. We are working hard with Oscar, if the opportunity arises, to put him in a Formula 1 car. We will already give him that opportunity later this year as he will do some free practice for us. In addition, he also does a lot of work for us on the simulator. He’s an up-and-coming talent to watch. There is no pressure to find him a seat as it’s only April. But in July, the pressure will certainly be there.”

Oscar Piastri’s F2 triumph last season came just a year after he took the F3 title, thereby achieving two junior formula titles in consecutive seasons. It's an impressive feat that only two other drivers – Charles Leclerc and George Russell, both currently driving in F1 – have managed to achieve.

And given that both Leclerc and Russell are touted as future superstars, Alpine is keen to get the Australian into the sport.

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Alpine forced “loan” Piastri to rivals as Alonso continues to impress

When Fernando Alonso originally returned in 2021, he was only expected to stay at most for three seasons. The Spaniard’s continued top-notch performances, however, have complicated matters for the French outfit.

Following his stellar performances this season, both the team and Alonso himself have shown interest in continuing that partnership.

Meanwhile, Esteban Ocon – who himself was originally “loaned” from Mercedes – is set to be at the French outfit for the foreseeable future after signing a long-term contract last season.

Despite being a power unit manufacturer, Alpine lack a customer team as they only supply themselves, and therefore a possible destination to place their junior teams.

This means they are having to court their rivals just to get their future talent a much-needed on-track experience. When Daniel Ricciardo tested positive for COVID-19 early this season, they were quick to offer Piastri’s services to McLaren in case of the Honey Badger’s absence.