The future of Oscar Piastri's career in Formula 1 is set to become more clear soon as his case goes before the FIA Contracts Recognition Board (CRB).
The Australian is in high demand, having won the Formula 2 championship last season but missed out on a place in F1. He has since been operating as a reserve for Alpine, who have supported his journey through the feeder series.
The Enstone outfit announced they would promote him for 2023 with Fernando Alonso leaving for Aston Martin, but things haven't been as straightforward as they would have hoped. Instead, Piastri denied that he had signed and instead wants to join midfield rivals McLaren.
The case appears before the CRB today, which is made up of specialist lawyers who will analyse the evidence to determine whose contract is valid. Both teams are confident, demonstrated by Alpine's initial signing announcement and McLaren's termination of Daniel Ricciardo a year before the end of his deal.
"[We're] going to the CRB on Monday and we'll have the CRB decide which contract Oscar signed takes precedence," said Alpine chief Otmar Szafnauer. "Once we have that ruling, we will look forward and see where we go.
"I think going to the CRB is the logical next step when you believe you have a valid contract with the driver and he signed something else. This has happened in the past. I just happened to be there when it happened to Jenson Button when he signed for Williams (in 2004 for 2005) but BAR Honda rightfully took up their option on Jenson.
"Jenson really wanted to go to Williams, BAR Honda won at the CRB and then had a great relationship with Jenson, culminating in a world championship, albeit that was the year after Honda left but it was still basically the same team."
He went on to add : "I've seen both sides of the argument. We are confident Oscar signed with us in November. There are certain things that need to be in the contract and I'm confident they are in there."
McLaren have refused to comment publicly on Piastri's situation, with team principal Andreas Seidl preferring instead last week to focus on Ricciardo after his departure was announced. A resolution is expected quickly once the CRB has heard both sides of the case.
