"He looks a little silly"- McLaren chief hits out at Alpine boss over Oscar Piastri fiasco

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has hit out at Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer for taking digs at Oscar Piastri during the entire contract saga. Piastri was an Alpine reserve driver and once Fernando Alonso signed for Aston Martin, the French squad announced Oscar Piastri as the main driver for the team.

Unbeknownst to Alpine, Piastri had already signed an agreement with the Woking-based team for the 2023 F1 season. This led to the case going to the Contract Recognition Board which ruled the case in favor of McLaren.

Zak Brown was questioned on the case and was asked why the team had stayed quiet until the proceedings ended. Brown aimed a dig at Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer and said that until things became clear, it didn't make sense for him to come out and say anything. He also said that the comments made by Otmar almost looked silly in hindsight and that maybe he should have approached things better. The McLaren CEO said:

“No, they were two totally separate issues that unfortunately came together at the same time, so it was very noisy, but we really haven’t commented on anything over here, either. I think it was better just to let things play out and give a little bit of color afterward."

He further added,

"I think if you look at all of the comments by Otmar (Szafnauer, the team principal of Alpine), he was giving a little play by play of the CRB and how confident they were, and now I think he looks a little silly. I think that’s why it’s best to keep your mouth shut, and we can talk about it after the fact when there’s something concrete to say."

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McLaren made itself oblivious to the noise around it

Brown talked about how McLaren had decided not to say too many things until everything was resolved. He also mentioned how the team was getting accused of poaching drivers from other teams in both F1 and IndyCar and even got messages from the fans. He said,

“I think before people saw the CRB ruling, they didn’t know what they didn’t know, and we kept our mouths shut deliberately. Now that ruling has come out in good detail, it’s clear what happened there. We recognized there was a lot of noise, but we knew the truth would come out eventually, and we just need to kind of ride it out as opposed to giving a running commentary."

For the 2023 F1 season, Oscar Piastri will replace Daniel Ricciardo as the second driver alongside Lando Norris. Poaching or not, McLaren has certainly found itself a great driver pair.