Alpine boss fires brutal shot at F1 star Oscar Piastri after lack of loyalty in McLaren switch

Young Aussie driver Oscar Piastri left the Formula 1 world in shock last year when he revealed in the middle of the season that he would leave the Alpine Academy to join McLaren as a full-time driver in 2023.

A world champion in Formula 2 and Formula 3 over the past two seasons, the 21-year-old is highly thought of in the paddock, and Alpine team chief Otmar Szafnauer was furious at the ‘betrayal’ from his protege.

The embarrassing and bitter public spat that played out afterwards featured in season five of Netflix’s wildly popular Drive to Survive.

Cameras showed Piastri working out at Alpine’s first-class facilities while the team boss spoke about what an asset the Aussie was to his team. 

‘Alpine’s a good team to be driving for because we’re doing all the right things and putting the tools in place that are required to win. I’m excited to have Oscar for 2023,’ he says.

Young Aussie driver Oscar Piastri left the Formula 1 world in shock last year when he revealed in the middle of the season that he would leave the Alpine Academy to join McLaren as a full-time driver in 2023

Alpine team chief Otmar Szafnauer was furious at the ‘betrayal’ from his protege

Shortly afterwards Piastri signed with McLaren and the news hit home with Szafnauer.

‘Oscar signing for McLaren was a big shock. It was difficult for me to understand the lack of loyalty, I was hoping he had a little bit more integrity than that,’ he says.

The team boss fired another shot at Piastri after the Dutch GP when Ricciardo – who Piasti will be replacing next season – finished in 17th place. 

Microphones capture Szafnauer quipping ‘Good luck to Oscar’ as Alpine race engineers burst into laughter around him.

The documentary then reveals a meeting between McLaren boss Zak Brown and Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi, where Brown offers to swap Daniel Ricciardo for Piastri.

Brown said he thought Szafnauer had been ‘caught with his pants down’.

Microphones capture Szafnauer quipping ‘Good luck to Oscar’ as Alpine race engineers burst into laughter around him

Piastri, now one of the most exciting prospects in the entire sport, believes he can outperform teammate Lando Norris in his debut season

Alpine later regrouped to sign AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly instead, forming an all-French line-up for the next season. 

Piastri, now one of the most exciting prospects in the entire sport, believes he can outperform teammate Lando Norris in his debut season.

‘I think so,’ he told ABC when asked whether he believed he could finish ahead of his teammate.

‘I think everyone has to have that self-belief that they can win, or if they’re not in a position to win to do the best that they can with what they have.’