Fernando Alonso intends to stay in Formula 1 for a while, but while Alpine wants to have the natural replacement of the Spanish driver ready. This is the Australian Oscar Piastri.
Oscar Piastri (Melbourne, Australia; April 6, 2001) is possibly the great pearl of current motorsports as far as circuits are concerned, with the permission of an even younger Théo Pourchaire.
But subjectivities aside, the truth is that the member of Alpine Sport’s young talent program has a very clear roadmap assigned: make the leap to Formula 1 in 2023.
«One of my main roles will be to learn everything I can from Fernando and Esteban»
The 20-year-old’s resume is not lacking, since his debut in single-seaters he has achieved very remarkable results: the British Formula 4 runner-up in 2017, the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2019, the FIA Formula 3 in 2020 and the FIA Formula 2 in 2021these last two being a debutant.
Something that encouraged many to think that Piastri would be on the queen category grid this year, but Alpine He does not want to rush and has designed an intensive preparation program prior to landing in Formula 1.
Alonso’s relief?
The current situation in Alpine is clear: both Fernando Alonso like Esteban Ocon they are the present and they also form a solid and well-matched couple. Therefore, breaking that tune in a year in which Formula 1 embarks on a new era is far from all logic.
But what is the plan for the future? At this time, only Esteban Ocon has a valid contract for 2023, while Fernando Alonso and Alpine must decide in the coming months whether to extend their collaboration.
If so, Alpine will have to find a team to loan Piastri to, just as Mercedes did with George Russell at Williams or Alpine itself with Guanyu Zhou at Alfa Romeo.
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In a way, the future of Oscar Piastri is in the hands of the Spanish rider, but while the situation clears up, Alpine wants to prepare its young talent in the best possible way with an intensive training plan.
“I will be quite busy despite not driving as much, we are preparing a great test program. In recent years, there haven’t been many young reserve drivers, certainly not many who are the only drivers in that role, so I think that says a lot about Alpine’s commitment to me.”
Alpine is one of the few teams that is used to holding private tests with Formula 1 cars from previous seasons for its young drivers and Piastri will benefit from this as he integrates into the team by attending Grands Prix as a member and complementing all of this. with a simulation program at the Enstone headquarters.
“I don’t think it’s a wasted year”, says Piastri when asked about his inactivity in competition this year. “Needless to say, I would have loved to be on the grid, but a lot of the things I can learn, like the travels of an F1 season, having to adapt to that without the pressure of having to drive, it really is quite a positive.” .
learn from the best
Alpine’s plan with Piastri is clear and the Australian’s task will be to absorb as much information as possible from his more experienced teammates.
«I will listen to Fernando and Esteban, also with a new car for 2022, I can learn how to develop the car, and with all my work in the simulator I can try to contribute to it»emphasizes Piastri.
“There are many other things outside of driving that make an F1 driver successful. One of my main roles will be to learn as much as I can from Fernando and Esteban. Just looking at the way they do things, the way they make suggestions to the engineers, the ability they have to come up with ideas and what to change in the car outside of driving is impressive.”reiterates.
“I think that’s the kind of thing I can get. I don’t need to be driving, this is going to be an important part », he declares, convinced that spending a year in white will not be counterproductive.
For his part, Laurent Rossi, CEO of Alpine Cars, is clear about what he expects from Piastri. “He is a valued member of the team and we are looking forward to bringing his talents to F1 as part of his natural progression on his career.”sentence.