Alpine bosses were ‘in a hurry’ to sign ‘expensive’ F1 driver and it cost them Oscar Piastri

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Oscar Piastri is on course to win the 2025 F1 world championship for McLaren. If indeed he does close it out, it will be painful for his former Alpine colleagues to watch.

Perhaps there will be a slight sense of pride that an Alpine academy graduate has won the title. But the overriding sense will be one of regret – how did they let one of the most talented drivers of this generation slip from their grasp?

The headline details are well known. Alpine hurriedly announced Piastri as one of their drivers for 2023 after Fernando Alonso’s abrupt departure, but he issued an extraordinary statement saying that he’d made no such agreement.

The matter went before the Contract Recognition Board, who ruled that he was entitled to race for McLaren in 2023. Now, Motorsport Magazine’s Mark Hughes has revealed more details behind one of F1’s most memorable sagas.

Alpine’s determination to sign Pierre Gasly cost them Oscar Piastri

Alpine’s plan was to retain two-time world champion Alonso for 2023. But Esteban Ocon was set to lose his seat.

Former Renault boss Luca de Meo and then-Alpine chief Laurent Rossi were ‘in a hurry’ to sign Pierre Gasly instead. They drew up an ‘expensive long-term contract’ for the AlphaTauri driver, whose one and only race victory came at the 2020 Italian GP.

For months, Piastri’s manager, Mark Webber, had been asking Alpine to finalise his F1 contract. They assured him that it would happen, but ‘it never did’.

That meant that, when Alpine tried to announce the Australian after Alonso joined Aston Martin, McLaren had already swooped in. Gasly has been a good signing for the team overall, scoring two podiums and emerging as their lead driver.

But the 29-year-old, who had a short spell at Red Bull, isn’t a talent of Piastri’s calibre.

Ocon ended up staying alongside Gasly for two years before the arrival of Jack Doohan, who only lasted six races in his rookie season.

How Alpine ‘insulted’ Fernando Alonso before he left

Alonso actually wanted to stay at Alpine in 2023, which would have allowed them to form their desired line-up. He requested a three-year deal, underlining his faith in the team.

Rossi thought he held all the cards because Alonso ‘had no realistic alternative’. But the wily Spaniard had learned that Sebastian Vettel was planning to retire, opening up a seat at Aston Martin.

Alpine ‘insulted’ their star driver by suggesting three years was too great a commitment for an ageing driver. They were stunned to learn, via press release, that he agreed a deal with Lawrence Stroll instead.

• READ MORE: F1 fans can barely contain their laughter after hearing what Oscar Piastri just said about Alpine exit, ‘made my day’

One could argue that Alpine have been the most poorly-managed team on the F1 grid in recent years, and are now trying to reset. From next year, they will be a Mercedes customer rather than a works team.

Flavio Briatore has indicated that Franco Colapinto and Paul Aron are the only candidates to be Gasly’s 2026 teammate. Belatedly, they’re giving opportunities to youthful reserve drivers.