Szafnauer wishes Piastri had ‘more integrity’ following Alpine rejection

Alpine F1 boss Otmar Szafnauer wishes Oscar Piastri had “more integrity” after the Australian driver rejected a full-time drive with the team for 2023.

Following Fernando Alonso’s shock announcement that he would leave the Enstone squad at the end of the current season, Alpine announced that Piastri would race for it next year.

However, the reigning Formula 2 champion quickly denied that he would compete for the team in 2023.

It is believed that Piastri has an option in place to race for McLaren next year, replacing Daniel Ricciardo, whose departure from the Woking-based squad is confirmed.

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Piastri has been part of Alpine’s junior academy for a number of years, and is spending 2022 as its test and reserve driver in F1.

With the 21-year-old seemingly willing to part ways with the team, Szafnauer says that he wished Piastri had more dedication to Alpine.

“He’s a promising young driver, hasn’t driven in Formula 1 yet,” Szafnauer told Sky F1. “My wish for Oscar was he had a bit more integrity.

“He signed a bit of paper as well back in November and we’ve done everything on our end of the bargain to prepare him for Formula 1 and his end of the bargain was to either drive for us or take a seat where we would place him for the next three years.

“I just wish Oscar would have remembered what he signed in November, what he signed up to.”

Piastri’s future will be at the hands of the Contract Recognition Board, which will meet on Monday.

Should Piastri depart the Alpine organisation, Ricciardo has been touted as a potential option for the team.

Ricciardo competed for Alpine in the past, when it ran under the Renault name in 2019 and 2020: “The team speak very highly of Daniel and his time here,” Szafnauer said.

“We haven’t had those strategic discussions yet but everybody that I ask, the engineering team, they really speak highly of his skill as a driver and a team motivator.”