Method 1 information | Alpine boss leaves door open for Oscar Piastri to return regardless of bitter contract saga
Alpine boss Laurent Rossi has left the door open for Oscar Piastri to in the future return to the workforce, saying he holds no grudge towards the Method 1 rookie.
Piastri’s well-documented contract saga in the end ended with the younger Australian signing with McLaren as a substitute of the workforce he had lengthy been tied to by way of its junior academy.
Holes within the 21-year-old’s cope with Alpine meant he was by no means formally signed to graduate to Method 1 with the workforce in 2023.
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What adopted was a bitter tit-for-tat trade between Alpine workforce principal Otmar Szafnaer and McLaren CEO Zak Brown with Piastri caught within the center.
Now, half a 12 months on from the ordeal, Alpine’s CEO says it is water below the bridge.
Showing on the official Method 1 podcast, Past the Grid, Rossi mentioned he is taking a wait-and-see strategy.
Nonetheless, the workforce is proud of its two French drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, each of whom are contracted by way of to the top of 2024.
“We’ll see after we get there,” he mentioned.
“If down the highway the chance arises, I am not saying no, I am not saying sure. We’ll see.
“There isn’t any want to carry a grudge. I feel it is destroying you and destroying the belongings you wish to do. So, you understand, that is gone.
“We’re higher off with Pierre now, so why would I would like anything? I am wonderful with that.”
Within the shemozzle, Szafnaeur was significantly terse in his evaluation of Piastri, who he mentioned he “anticipated extra loyalty from” given their relationship.
Piastri joined the Alpine academy in 2020 and gained the FIA Method 3 Championship that 12 months earlier than taking out the FIA Method 2 Championship a 12 months later.
Coming into the 2023 Method 1 season, he was arguably probably the most well-prepared driver within the fashionable period given the sheer variety of testing laps accomplished with Alpine.
Whereas Szafnaeur wished Piastri had graduated with Alpine, Rossi mentioned he “would not name drivers disloyal” however had hoped the state of affairs might need been approached in a different way.
“Now, there are in all probability methods to do it,” mentioned Rossi.
“I’d haven’t essentially prevented Oscar from leaving ought to he have come to us with one thing a bit extra structured that claims, ‘Hey guys, I am additionally having this supply. What will we do? Can we speak?’
“It simply caught us without warning, and I assume it caught additionally (Daniel) Ricciardo without warning, which says rather a lot, proper?
“That could be somewhat bit candid and we do not wish to be candid anymore. That is why we put that into the contract. It is okay.
“You already know, it is okay. It is over now. We learnt the teachings for ourselves. The remainder — it is only one particular person. I truly want him properly, and that is about it.”
Piastri suffered a DNF in his first Method 1 race, the Bahrain Grand Prix. Teammate Lando Norris was the final of these to complete the race in seventeenth.
Whereas McLaren languished, Gasly claimed two factors within the season-opener together with his ninth place end.
His offsider Ocon suffered a nightmare race, copping three penalties and an eventual DNF.
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