F1, Oscar Piastri takes the plunge: Alpine’s announcement

The Australian will take the place of Fernando Alonso

Just 24 hours after the announcement of Fernando Alonso’s move, as of 2023, to Aston Martin, Alpine made official on Tuesday who will take the Asturian’s place next season: he is Oscar Piastri, an Australian born in 2001, F2 world champion in 2021 and currently a reserve driver right at Alpine.

“Oscar is a bright and rare talent,” Otmar Szafnauer, team principal of the French stable, said at the announcement. “We are proud to have grown him and to have supported him through the difficult gavetta in the minor formulas. Thanks to the collaboration that has lasted four years now, we have witnessed his development and maturation as a driver, believing him capable of making the leap to Formula 1.”

“As a reserve driver,” Szafnauer added, “he has been in contact with the team on the track, in the factory and at test level: he has shown maturity and speed, securing promotion to second driver, alongside Esteban (Ocon, ed.). We believe this duo can give us the continuity we need to achieve our long-term goals: we want to fight to win races and championships.”