Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer revealed Tuesday that he learned of Fernando Alonso’s move to Aston Martin from the official press release.
The news broke on Monday that the two-time world championship would fill the vacancy left by Sebastian Vettel, who announced last Thursday he will retire from Formula One at the end of the season. Alonso’s contract is a multiyear dear, and he is set to join Aston Martin in 2023.
“Obviously when we’re in the paddock, there’s all sorts of rumors, and I had heard rumors that Aston were interested [but] it was the first confirmation I had,” Szafnauer said to reporters on a Zoom call, per Sky Sports. “Once you hear that they’re interested, there’s probably discussions that took place. I was confident that, even with the discussions, and there’s nothing wrong with exploring, that we were very close [to a new deal].
“So yes, the first confirmation I had was the press release. I did ask the question [to Alonso]. And I was told: ’No, no, I haven’t signed anything.’ So I was a bit surprised.”
Alonso said as recently as Thursday that he was planning to stay at Alpine, but Szafnauer said Tuesday that the length of the extension was a sticking point. The team principal added that Alpine “offered a one plus one deal. And we discussed with Fernando that: ‘Look, if next year at this time you’re performing at the same level, of course, we will take you and that could have carried on’. But I think he wanted more certainty independent of performance.”
The question now is: Who will fill the vacated Alpine seat? The team announced earlier on Tuesday that it would be Oscar Piastri, but the 21-year-old said on Twitter hours later, “I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.”
