Oscar Piastri picking McLaren over Alpine last season was 'very poor ethics'

The way Oscar Piastri left Alpine to join McLaren in 2023 was not unethical, believes F1 pundit Peter Windsor. The Australian shook the entire F1 fanbase and paddock by denying Alpine's official statement about him joining their F1 team. He later announced that he will be joining the British team for the 2023 F1 season.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Windsor justified the decision and explained why Oscar Piastri chose the orange team over Alpine. Of course, the British team had a richer history with the sport and also had a more relaxed environment. He said:

"If you had an open choice, and you said right, you're Oscar Piastri, new guy in Formula One, you got a firm offer from McLaren, firm offer from Alpine, which team do you want to drive for? I think most of us would probably say McLaren, wouldn't they, given the history of McLaren and, you know, Zac Brown and the Technology Center and the coolness of McLaren. I don't think you can anyway decry that choice."

Furthermore, Windsor pointed out that he did not like the way Oscar Piastri left Alpine. At the time, Piastri was well included in Alpine's driver program and was one of their future drivers.

According to Windsor, it was ethically incorrect and 'poor'. Despite all that, the F1 pundit praised Piastri for being a great young driver who will flourish in the Papaya team. He added:

"The only point I've ever made about Oscar Piastri is the way he made that choice. At the moment he made that choice, he actually had a race drive with Alpine. That's what I've always banged on about is being very poor whatever...very poor ethics. But having, you know, made the choice, he's obviously going to be very good at McLaren because he's very very quick he's very good."

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Lando Norris pinpoints a major issue with McLaren MCL60

After a chaotic 2023 F1 Australian GP, Lando Norris explained how more DRS zones are in fact bad for his team. He revealed that the top speed of the MCL60 is so low that the DRS zone does not help him or his teammate, Oscar Piastri, gain enough speed. He said:

“I was able to race against them and overtake them, which was probably one of the biggest challenges we faced because our top speed is so bad. But I overtook Hulkenberg and had a good race with him. So it was sometimes positive. I think it helps us not to have DRS. We were shocked to see how bad we were with DRS and how draggy the car is when we open the DRS."

It is safe to say that MCL60 is the draggiest car on the entire F1 grid at the moment. Hence, they are simply unable to take full advantage of DRS zones.