A day after the news broke Fernando Alonso will join Aston Martin in 2023, Alpine confirmed the driver who will fill their vacant seat—Oscar Piastri.
The young reserve driver appeared to be the evident choice to fill the seat next season, but the announcement came just hours after Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer would not confirm whether Piastri would drive for the team next season despite the “contractual obligations,” per BBC.
There is no quote from the driver in the team’s announcement, and hours later, Piastri denied that he signed to driver for Alpine in Formula One next season.
“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,” he tweeted. “This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.”
The 21-year-old reserve driver won the Formula Three championship in 2020 and the F2 title in his first attempt last season. Szafnauer expressed confidence ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix qualifying that the rising star would find an F1 seat as soon as the 2023 campaign.
“Oscar is a bright and rare talent,” Szafnauer said in the official announcement. “We are proud to have nurtured and supported him through the difficult pathways of the junior formulae.
“Through our collaboration over the past four years, we have seen him develop and mature into a driver who is more than capable of taking the step up to Formula 1. As our reserve driver he has been exposed to the team at the track, factory and testing where he has shown the maturity, promise and speed to ensure his promotion to our second seat alongside Esteban.
“Together, we believe the duo will give us the continuity we need to achieve our long-term goal of challenging for wins and championships.”
Alonso confirmed he would join Aston Martin starting in 2023, filling the open seat left by Sebastian Vettel, who announced last week that he will be retiring from F1 at the end of the ’22 campaign.
