Alpine announces Oscar Piastri as their 2023 F1 race driver
Aig.2 - The Alpine F1 Team today has confirmed to promote their 21-year-old reserve driver Oscar Piastri as Esteban Ocon’s teammate starting from 2023. In line with the commitments made by the Team to the young Australian, Oscar will be promoted to race driver and step in Fernando Alonso’s F1 seat from next year onwards.
Oscar has been a valued member of the Alpine family for the past four years. The Melbournian joined the Alpine Academy following his title win in the Formula Renault Eurocup Championship in 2019. With support and guidance from the Academy, Oscar went on to win the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship before making it an unprecedented three drivers’ titles in a row by winning the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2021. In doing so he became only the third driver to secure back-to-back Drivers’ Championships across Formula 2 and Formula 3; following only Charles Leclerc and George Russell.
Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team
As part of his formative F1 journey, Oscar was first promoted to BWT Alpine F1 Team Reserve Driver at the start of the 2022 season and has since been undergoing, under the Team’s guidance and its full financial support, an intensive and comprehensive training programme of private tests in the race-winning A521, the 2021 Alpine F1 car, race support and simulator sessions to prepare him for the next big step into F1.
Alpine now looks forward to seeing the next stage in his F1 career alongside Esteban Ocon.
Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal, BWT Alpine F1 Team
Otmar Szafnauer
Alpine Team Principal
“Oscar is a bright and rare talent. 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.”
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Great news! At last new real talent again from downunder in F1!
Over a dozen F1 drivers have come from Oz. Daniel Ricciardo, Mark Webber, Alan Jones, David Brabham, Tim Shenken and others have brought the Australian sizzle to Formula 1.
In the case of Mark Webber, he was Vettel's Bottas, and consistently got the short end of the stick. I've always felt he had the potential to achieve at least one WDC.
Hopefully Oscar will not be restricted in his ability to shine forth.
One correction, Bottas had his equal chance and only prove one thing, he wasn't good enough
Lala land equal car but not equal contract geez f4 we've had this conversation before your memorý playing up? you'll be trying to pay for shopping with whiney gums next
And you wrote the contract did you, just like GR VB is was an equal in everything, but driving ability that is. Bit like you but you have no ability
Re: Mark Weber well said got shafted at Red Bull...Right Place...Wrong Time !!!! Happens to many drivers .
You missed out on mentioning the Australian with the greatest list of achievements ~ Jack Brabham ~ 3 WDCs, and the only driver in history to win a WDC in a car designed and built by himself!
Boy this guy's driving record is top notch, will go straight into top 5 along with GR, LH, MV, CL. How the likes of some of the current no hopers jumped ahead of him I don't know, oh yea money above talent.
He might be good, but I doubt whether he'll perform better than Fa can in that 2cv
Oh, this article didn't age well!
How true. Keep up everybody.
Throwing out useless silly season predictions here:
Piastri to McLaren
Ricciardo to Arrow McLaren SP in Indycar
Gasly released from AT to Alpine
I go to AT
I can see CL going to RB next year, maybe you could mosey up to ferrari,, you never know.
Hes so tied up on long term contact, unless there are performances clauses in it which given the way Ferrari are performing, i cant see them including them in ANY contract ,so very unlikely, Marko wouldn't wear it anyway two cockerels in the hen house= disaster, ala prost-senna
Sometimes we all get that sixth sense feeling & I don't know if anyone has noticed but CL& MV seem to get on very well and as I said before max is quite liking second spot. Never say Never.
Contracts dont seem to matter anymore especially if you can afford to buy yourself out, I think ferrari should do something about their stratagy team pretty quick.,. Pronto. Now.
Rosberg and Hamish got on well too till Blondie started to push the girl a bit harder...prompting the Dame to say she only wanted a subseriant team mate in future , the whole episode exposed Torgers inexperience of managing team mates
Results count stroppy, to many to keep count.
Wanker!
Only for him to declare otherwise, LOL.
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