08 February 2023 , 22:36
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Alpine are determined not to allow themselves to be caught out by contract loopholes again after being left red-faced by the unplanned departure of Oscar Piastri last year.
The team was hoping to convince Fernando Alonso to sign a new deal. But when the Spaniard decided to embark upon a fresh challenge with Aston Martin, their backup plan was not as fool-proof as they thought it would be.
In one of the most sensational driver move stories of the year, reserve driver Piastri turned down the chance to step up to a race seat. As it turned out, he had already agreed to leave for midfield rivals McLaren.
That fact only came to light after Piastri's infamous public statement after Alpine announced him as a 2023 driver. "I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year," he wrote. "This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year."
After a legal battle, the FIA's Contracts Recognition Board ruled that the Aussie was free to join McLaren as planned. Left with egg on their face, Alpine were rattled and chief executive Laurent Rossi even talked about shutting down the team's driver academy.
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Team principal Otmar Szafnauer later clarified that the team would continue to provide that pathway. "At the time, you look at everything," he admitted before explaining that the academy will remain operational.
Alpine team principle Otmar Szafnauer (PA)"I think Laurent said that we've got to reconsider that if we spend this money and get drivers to a certain spot and they want to go elsewhere, should we really be doing this? That was something we looked at, but we definitely continue to be committed to the young driver programme and to the Alpine Academy."
Speaking to reporters, Szafnauer admitted that the team made mistakes and made it clear steps have been taken to make sure more talented racers cannot slip through their fingers. He said: "In the future, we will treasure these lessons and make sure that we eliminate the loopholes that allowed Oscar to get out of the contract we thought we had with him.
"What happened in the summer was not what we had planned in December 2021. We can say that we should have done things differently so that the plan to promote Oscar would actually have been realised."