The search for a driver to replace Daniel Ricciardo for McLaren’s Formula 1 team has been tumultuous, to say the least. The British team managed to sign defending IndyCar champion Alex Palou from Chip Ganassi Racing. Unbeknownst to McLaren, Ganassi had an option in his contract with Palou to retain his service until 2023. The dispute led to Ganassi filing a lawsuit against Palou. Meanwhile, McLaren has turned to another target, Alpine F1 team reserve driver Oscar Piastri. Now, the Alpine F1 Team is planning to file a lawsuit against the apparently McLaren reserve driver.
According to Reuters, Alpine principal Otmar Szafnauer is certain that the team will make a claim at the High Court of Justice in London if Piastri refuses to run for Alpine next season. Factory team of the French manufacturer announced last week that the 21-year-old Australian will replace the outgoing Fernando Alonso next season. The crux of potential legal action is Piastri bluntly declared on social networks that he won’t be driving for Alpine next year.
Alpine has contacted the FIA’s internal Contract Accreditation Board to resolve the dispute over whether Piastri is contractually binding to the team. However, Australians can still choose not to compete in F1 entirely by 2023. Szafnauer told Reuters, “Going to the Supreme Court is more than 90% Surely that is what we will do. If the CRB says ‘your license is valid only in Alpine’, then he [Piastri] say ‘that’s great but I never drive for them, I’ll just sit out a year’ then you have to go to High Court for compensation. “
In Alpine’s view, the research team obviously will want to be compensated for the millions of dollars spent in preparation Piastri for Formula 1. Alpine has subsidized his single-seater career as well as organized a series of tests on the team’s F1 cars used in previous seasons. If Oscar Piastri does not race for Alpine in 2023, it is rumored that the team will try to sign Daniel Ricciardo to return to the chair he left behind to join McLaren.
