Rindi Putra
Alpine F1 Team will sue Oscar Piastri to take legal action because he feels he has been wronged by the former 2021 Formula 2 champion. As reported by Reuters, Alpine feels that it has invested heavily in Oscar Piastri's career and development.
Not wanting to lose, Alpine will take Oscar Piastri to legal action and will ask the Australian racer to pay compensation in exchange for all the facilities and investments that Alpine has provided so far.
Going to the high court is over 90% certain that’s what we’ll do, -Otmar Szafnauer
Oscar Piastri recently made a surprising announcement about his future at Alpine, confirming that he will not be racing for the Alpine team next year (2023).
This news makes the Alpine team seem unprofessional because Alpine announced shortly before that Oscar Piastri will fill the driver's seat at Alpine starting in 2023.
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Alpine Will Bring Oscar Piastri to High Court, Asks for Refund
Indirectly, Otmar Szafnauer gave the impression that the Alpin team wanted to ask Oscar Piastri for a refund or money back. Alpine asked for all the facilities that had been received by Oscar Piastri returned in the form of money or perhaps some other arrangement.
Otmar said that the team in France (headquarters Alpine) indicated that they were preparing everything to meet Oscar's side at the green table after the summer break was over.
Although it looks like it doesn't want to lose, Alpine's request is very reasonable. The Alpine team has spent a lot of money and provided various facilities to Oscar Piastri to ensure he is ready if in time he is needed in the Core team or becomes the main driver.
We haven’t sat down with the accountants to figure out everything we’ve spent. We will have to do that if we go to the high court, -Otmar Szafnauer
Even though this season Oscar is only as a backup driver in Alpine, it doesn't mean Oscar is just waiting for his turn. Alpine has given Oscar flying hours in driving an F1 car on numerous occasions.
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The cost of training in an F1 car is not cheap
In addition to the simulator, Alpine also often gives Oscar the opportunity to get used to the F1 car. Even though it's only titled "practice", the funds spent by Alpine are not small. For fuel alone, it can reach thousands of dollars, not to mention crew costs, travel costs, etc.
All these facilities Alpin gave to Oscar Piastri in the hope that he would be ready if he later raced for Alpine in the highest caste of formula cars (open-wheel).
Even though Oscar can only use last year's car (2021), that doesn't mean the cost will be cheaper. For one power unit of a Formula 1 car, the price can reach 1.78 billion dollars.
In addition, Alpin also had to pay for a special team and mechanics to help Oscar Piastri practice with the F1 car yesterday. Excluding travel, vehicle, and hotel costs for all teams.
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Is this commotion because of Fernando Alonso?
It all seems to have started with Fernando Alonso. After Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement, Aston Martin immediately announced Fernando Alonso as Vettel's replacement driver. This took everyone by surprise, including the Alpine team themselves.
"Yes, I learned about Alonso's move from the media. Previously I asked Alonso and he said he hasn't signed anything yet, so I'm a little surprised to say the least" -Otmar Szafnauer
Fernando Alonso's move to Aston Martin is like "shaking" the transfer market for Formula 1 drivers. Oscar Piastri is rumored to have signed a contract with McLaren's team, and Daniel Ricciardo is rumored to be terminated by McLaren.
A few days later, the Williams team announced that they were extending Alex Albon's contract. Williams also seems to want to rush to tie Alex Albon who could have suddenly chosen another team like Alonso.
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