Fernando Alonso believes that Alpine was more focused on Oscar Piastri than him for the future with the team.
After Hungarian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso announced his move to leave Alpine F1 after 2022. The Spaniard announced his move following the retirement of Sebastian Vettel after the 2022 season.
Fernando Alonso will be driving for Aston Martin from the 2023 season as he signed a multi-year deal with the team.
However, things took a turn for Alpine when Fernando Alonso’s replacement Oscar Piastri rejected the team’s offer to drive in 2023. Moreover, they lost Piastri to McLaren following the contract chaos.
When asked if Piastri went to McLaren for 2023, Alpine Team principal Otmar Szafnauer swiftly responded “Absolutely”.
Otmar further questioned the “integrity” of Piastri and his Webber-lead management team. According to him, Piastri breached the spirit of the contract. The contract dispute hearing will occur in Geneva on Monday.
Szafnauer is expecting a quick resolution.
“When BAR and Williams fought over Jenson Button in 2005, it took two days,”
he said.
Alonso was disappointed with Alpine F1
Nevertheless, whatever the outcome of the hearing might be, it’s clear that Alonso is driving for Aston Martin.
He went to look for other teams as he started thinking Alpine was much more focused on Oscar Piastri for the future.
“The first discussions were in Australia in March,”
Alonso told Viaplay at Spa-Francorchamps.
“Nothing happened.
“They were worried about Piastri, his place, Piastri’s future – Piastri, Piastri, Piastri.
“Then Sebastian (Vettel) ended his career and everything changed,”
he insisted.
Alonso was disappointed as Alpine was considering his age before his performance in the car.
“It seems quite strange to me that I am judged every year on what my passport says is my birthday,”
the 41-year-old said.
“The other teams think differently and trust my abilities.
“It felt like the right decision to go to Aston because they really seemed to want me and appreciated the performance I had done in the last two years. I haven’t experienced that in maybe the last year and a half.”
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how Fernando Alonso performs at Aston Martin in the coming season.
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