Oscar Piastri has finally revealed what really happened during his failed Alpine F1 debut, giving fans a deeper look at the drama that eventually led him to McLaren.
“I kind of knew that it was going to be a pretty big story,” Piastri admitted.
What should have been a simple promotion quickly turned into one of F1’s most dramatic contract disputes in years. Alpine publicly announced that Piastri, who was their reserve driver at the time, would be stepping up to race for them in 2023 after Fernando Alonso‘s surprise move to Aston Martin.
But within hours, everything fell apart.
Piastri took to social media with a bombshell statement, making it crystal clear he hadn’t agreed to any deal with Alpine and wouldn’t be driving for them the next season.
The dispute got so heated that it ended up in front of the Contract Recognition Board. After reviewing all the evidence, they ruled that Alpine didn’t actually have a valid contract with Piastri.
This cleared the way for the young Australian to sign with McLaren, where he eventually made his F1 debut in 2023.
Speaking on the Off The Grid podcast with Lawrence Barretto, Piastri opened up about that crazy period: “There were reasons for doing that, it wasn’t just me going out of my way to announce to the world that I’m not racing.”
“I certainly look back on it now with some laughs. Definitely at the time, it wasn’t so funny. It obviously went to the CRB. Things were in my favour, but that was another pretty tense moment.”
## Piastri adds unwanted record after bitter title defeat
Oscar Piastri has suffered yet another tough blow in what’s already been a heartbreaking 2025 season, making the pain of losing the world title to his own teammate even worse.
The Australian was in control of the championship for most of the year, taking the lead as early as the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and holding onto it until Mexico.
That impressive run lasted 15 Grands Prix—one of the longest periods any driver has ever spent at the top of the standings.
Unfortunately, this remarkable achievement ended up working against him, leaving Piastri with a record no driver wants.
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