"I didn’t want to cause a scene"- Oscar Piastri hits back at Alpine boss, claims he had told him about leaving team 'multiple times'

Oscar Piastri has that he did not say anything to Alpine boss Otmar Sazafneur when the latter announced him as replacement for the outgoing Fernando Alonso. Piastri did so because he did not want to 'create a scene'.

Following the announcement, Piastri took to social media to deny that he would be an Alpine driver next season. In an exclusive with Formula 1's official website, the Alpine reserve driver gave his rundown of events and explained how things panned out.

According to Piastri, he had already informed Alpine multiple times that he would not be continuing with the team and signed a contract with McClaren on July 4 for next season. So Sazafneur's announcement - which came almost a month later (August 2) - was 'bizarre' and 'upsetting'..

“That was a bizarre and frankly upsetting episode," said Piastri. "It was done publicly in front of some members of the team who were oblivious to the situation, and I didn’t want to cause a scene in front of them. Once we were in private, I told Otmar what our position was and what he had been told multiple times before that. It was very surprising to me to make that announcement.”

Piastri decided to leave Alpine for a breakdown in trust and his uncertain future with the team. F1's Contract Recognition Board (CRB) later confirmed that Piastri didn't have a contract with Alpine for 2023.

Asked why he took to social media to refute Alpine's annoucement, Piastri said that it was the 'biggest moment' of his career - debut in F1 with Mercedes - so he didn't want a false announcement.

“It was the biggest moment of my career and probably my life up to now," said Piastri. "To have that falsely announced (by Alpine) was something my management and I felt we had to correct, and there was also potential legal implications if we didn’t deny the announcement."

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Oscar Piastri's decision was made before Fernando Alonso's departure

In a rather massive revelation, Piastri said that his decision to leave Alpine was made long before Alonso announced his decision to exit the team during the summer break.

Piastri said:

“My decision was made well in advance (of Alonso’s departure), which made Alpine’s announcement probably even more confusing and upsetting because we had told the team that I wasn’t going to continue,” he said.

Piastri added that he was disappointed that he could not bid a proper farewell to the team because of the saga surrounding the false annoucement. Nevertheless, he intends to show his gratitude to everyone in the team before moving on, saying:

“It was quite upsetting as the announcement was false, and it also denied me the opportunity to properly say goodbye to everyone at Enstone."I had been with team for a bit over two and a half years now, and for the rest of the team to find out I was leaving in that manner was very upsetting. I still haven’t had the opportunity to say goodbye, and it’s something I want to do to show my gratitude to all the men and women at Enstone.”

Piastri will part Lando Norris at McLaren next season in his debut Formula 1 campaign.