The legal conflict has come to an end. The Drivers Contract Recognition Board has agreed with McLaren and Oscar Piastri will compete with those from Woking in 2023, while Alpine loses its young reserve.
After Monday’s meeting between all the parties involved, the result was revealed this Friday just before the start of FP1 of the Dutch GP, and the FIA has given a key piece of information that has amazed everyone: McLaren signed Oscar Piastri . .. July 4!
So says the FIA statement on the ‘Piastri case’ between Alpine and McLaren.
“Decision of the Contract Recognition Board:
The FIA Drivers’ Contracts Recognition Board (CRB) was created to deal with the registration of drivers’ contracts in the FIA Formula One World Championship and any issues related to the priority of contracts between drivers and Formula One teams. 1 during the same period of time.
The CRB is made up of four people, each of a different nationality, and four alternate members, all of them qualified lawyers with international prestige and experience and extensive experience in contract law.
The Board is appointed by the current President of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.
Here follows the decision of the Contract Recognition Board in relation to a dispute between the BWT Alpine F1 team and the McLaren F1 team regarding driver Oscar Piastri:
A Tribunal appointed by the Contract Recognition Board held a meeting on August 29, 2022 at which counsel for Alpine Racing Limited, McLaren Racing Limited and Mr. Oscar Piastri were heard. The Court has issued a unanimous decision that the only contract recognized by the Board is the contract between McLaren Racing Limited and Mr Piastri dated July 4, 2022.
Mr Piastri is entitled to drive for McLaren Racing Limited for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The jury consisted of Ian Hunter as Chairman, and Klaus Peter Berger, Matthieu de Boisseson and Stefano Azzali as members.”
The matter exploded on Monday after the Hungarian GP , that is, on August 1, when Aston Martin revealed the signing of Alonso for 2023, the Alpine team was quick to announce Piastri as his replacement, but the pilot made it clear in networks that this was not true and that in fact it would not lead for them next year.
A conspiracy theory quickly emerged that pointed out that Alonso and Piastri (joined by Flavio Briatore and Mark Webber, a friend of the Asturian and the young man’s manager), had decided together to leave Alpine and leave the Gauls without Esteban Ocon’s partner.
But the new date revealed makes it clear that Piastri signed for McLaren long before Vettel announced his retirement from F1 (which ended up triggering the signing of Alonso), that Alonso left a free gap in Alpine and that Enstone decided to cover it with Piastri. In fact, McLaren already had a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo as the driver clung to his contract, and almost two months before revealing that ‘Ric’ would no longer be in Woking.
Daniel Ricciardo seems to be the big loser in this story, since he publicly assured that he would fulfill his contract, while the team had already decided, without him, its line-up for 2023. As for the teams, Alpine is obviously the loser, since they are left without their regular driver and without his reserve, and while they were deciding who they would choose for 2023, one of them had already signed for another team and probably the other was already clear about not continuing.
But there are unresolved doubts: did Alonso know that Piastri was already from McLaren and therefore that Alpine no longer had a ‘plan B’? Did McLaren really have Ricciardo excited for almost two months without telling him he was out? As for Vettel’s withdrawal, at Aston Martin they assure that the objective was to renew him and that they did not speak with Alonso until the four-time champion said he was leaving, but what was revealed by the FIA does not clarify who was playing on the grid blindly and who with marked cards.
