2022 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[mwillems]

Understandable, he's a very relatable guy. But he knows the business and he was not shy of playing his cards with RB and Renault.

[Mansell89]

In all this, I feel bad for Daniel, really hoped he would pick up. Now we don’t even know what 2023 holds for him.

Same- couldn’t have put it any better.

[McL-H]

It appears Alonso and Piastri have played Alpine. On Sunday Alpine said they were close to a new contract with Alonso. On Monday Alonso drops the bomb to be signing with Aston Martin. Coincidentally, just a day after the deadline of Alpine needing to have confirmed an F1 seat for Piastri for 2023. This makes him a free man and he signs with McLaren. If true, this would be very foul play from both of them, to be collaborating against their team. Especially since Alpine invested so much in Piastri as their talent for the future.

Do we really need a guy like this in our team? Does McLaren want a guy like this to represent the McLaren brand? The next team he will **** over is McLaren. You can bet on it. I am not happy with Ricciardo’s performances either, but at least he has decency.

If it were up to me, I would not want such a fraud of a driver in my team, even if he were to be the next Hamilton or Verstappen.

[wesley123]

It appears Alonso and Piastri have played Alpine. On Sunday Alpine said they were close to a new contract with Alonso. On Monday Alonso drops the bomb to be signing with Aston Martin. Coincidentally, just a day after the deadline of Alpine needing to have confirmed an F1 seat for Piastri for 2023. This makes him a free man and he signs with McLaren. If true, this would be very foul play from both of them, to be collaborating against their team. Especially since Alpine invested so much in Piastri as their talent for the future.

Do we really need a guy like this in our team? Does McLaren want a guy like this to represent the McLaren brand? The next team he will **** over is McLaren. You can bet on it. I am not happy with Ricciardo’s performances either, but at least he has decency.

If it were up to me, I would not want such a fraud of a driver in my team, even if he were to be the next Hamilton or Verstappen.

What?

[Swed3121]

So, how long until McLaren Announces Piastri?

IMO they are waiting for ricciardo to finalize a deal so where else

[NAPI10]

Zak brown is selling the dream. Next up a monorail

Love affair between Zak & Otmar bloomed during 'Pink Mercedes' saga....this is the continuation of that chapter.

[Stig14]

It appears Alonso and Piastri have played Alpine. On Sunday Alpine said they were close to a new contract with Alonso. On Monday Alonso drops the bomb to be signing with Aston Martin. Coincidentally, just a day after the deadline of Alpine needing to have confirmed an F1 seat for Piastri for 2023. This makes him a free man and he signs with McLaren. If true, this would be very foul play from both of them, to be collaborating against their team. Especially since Alpine invested so much in Piastri as their talent for the future.

Do we really need a guy like this in our team? Does McLaren want a guy like this to represent the McLaren brand? The next team he will **** over is McLaren. You can bet on it. I am not happy with Ricciardo’s performances either, but at least he has decency.

If it were up to me, I would not want such a fraud of a driver in my team, even if he were to be the next Hamilton or Verstappen.

I doubt Piastri has any say on when Fernando decides to sign a contract. Fernando left when he pleased (I don't believe he has a personal vendetta against Alpine) and Piastri looked elsewhere as he was contractually able to do. This whole situation reeks of incompetence by Alpine, not deliberate underhand tactics by two unrelated drivers.

[taperoo2k]

It appears Alonso and Piastri have played Alpine. On Sunday Alpine said they were close to a new contract with Alonso. On Monday Alonso drops the bomb to be signing with Aston Martin. Coincidentally, just a day after the deadline of Alpine needing to have confirmed an F1 seat for Piastri for 2023. This makes him a free man and he signs with McLaren. If true, this would be very foul play from both of them, to be collaborating against their team. Especially since Alpine invested so much in Piastri as their talent for the future.

Alpine took too long to offer Alonso the kind of contract he wanted, and they pretty much dragged their feet in getting Piastri a drive for 2023. If true about Alpine's option running out on the 31st of July for Piastri ? Tough. If they really wanted to keep him they'd have exercised that option some weeks ago. Though I expect Alpine thought there would be no real options for Piastri.

Do we really need a guy like this in our team? Does McLaren want a guy like this to represent the McLaren brand? The next team he will **** over is McLaren. You can bet on it. I am not happy with Ricciardo’s performances either, but at least he has decency.

McLaren will want drivers capable of winning races and championships. Piastri looks like the real deal, much like Lando does. As for Ricciardo ? He just hasn't delivered for McLaren, which might not be entirely his fault.
Besides I don't expect Lando will stick around at McLaren if they are unable to deliver him a car that's capable of challenging for the drivers title. Same thing with Piastri if he joins McLaren.

If it were up to me, I would not want such a fraud of a driver in my team, even if he were to be the next Hamilton or Verstappen.

There isn't any fraud taking place, this is the same old F1 drivers market. Wheeling and dealing between teams, managers and drivers. McLaren can be utterly ruthless in the drivers market when they need to be. If they have signed Piastri then I'd be excited rather than annoyed. Besides Mark Webber is no stranger to the cutthroat side of F1, he'll be the driving force behind Piastri possibly signing for McLaren.

[Ground Effect]

It appears Alonso and Piastri have played Alpine. On Sunday Alpine said they were close to a new contract with Alonso. On Monday Alonso drops the bomb to be signing with Aston Martin. Coincidentally, just a day after the deadline of Alpine needing to have confirmed an F1 seat for Piastri for 2023. This makes him a free man and he signs with McLaren. If true, this would be very foul play from both of them, to be collaborating against their team. Especially since Alpine invested so much in Piastri as their talent for the future.

Do we really need a guy like this in our team? Does McLaren want a guy like this to represent the McLaren brand? The next team he will **** over is McLaren. You can bet on it. I am not happy with Ricciardo’s performances either, but at least he has decency.

If it were up to me, I would not want such a fraud of a driver in my team, even if he were to be the next Hamilton or Verstappen.

It may appear so, but could also be just an unfortunate coincidence for Alpine. To be fair, Daniel had negotiated a contract with RBR and it's claimed they gave him everything he asked for, only to call Christian and say he was on his way to Renault. I remember Christian saying he thought Daniel was joking. Daniel kind of left Renault stunned when he opted for McLaren before a wheel was turned in the 2020 season. Renault shafted Carlos, after he had cut ties with Red Bull, as he was initially on loan from RBR. Everyone thought he would be offered a contract, but lost his seat, which everyone thought was going to Ocon, as they had agreed a deal with Mercedes, but they signed Daniel suddenly. Meanwhile, prior to all that, McLaren had agreed to take Ocon after the summer break of 2018, he had a seat fit and everything in June, but then Toto decided to send him to a factory backed team, being Renault, we know how that worked out. By the time Toto and Ocon came back, McLaren were signing Carlos, with no strings attached, unlike Ocon would have been. The bottom line is, teams, drivers will always do what's best for them. So don't feel too bad for Alpine, this is how F1 works.

[McL-H]

I doubt Piastri has any say on when Fernando decides to sign a contract. Fernando left when he pleased (I don't believe he has a personal vendetta against Alpine) and Piastri looked elsewhere as he was contractually able to do. This whole situation reeks of incompetence by Alpine, not deliberate underhand tactics by two unrelated drivers.

Alpine took too long to offer Alonso the kind of contract he wanted, and they pretty much dragged their feet in getting Piastri a drive for 2023. If true about Alpine's option running out on the 31st of July for Piastri ? Tough. If they really wanted to keep him they'd have exercised that option some weeks ago. Though I expect Alpine thought there would be no real options for Piastri.

McLaren will want drivers capable of winning races and championships. Piastri looks like the real deal, much like Lando does. As for Ricciardo ? He just hasn't delivered for McLaren, which might not be entirely his fault.
Besides I don't expect Lando will stick around at McLaren if they are unable to deliver him a car that's capable of challenging for the drivers title. Same thing with Piastri if he joins McLaren.

There isn't any fraud taking place, this is the same old F1 drivers market. Wheeling and dealing between teams, managers and drivers. McLaren can be utterly ruthless in the drivers market when they need to be. If they have signed Piastri then I'd be excited rather than annoyed. Besides Mark Webber is no stranger to the cutthroat side of F1, he'll be the driving force behind Piastri possibly signing for McLaren.

Thank you guys for the counterarguments. My comment was obviously assuming that the speculations that do their round are true. It is not confirmed and only the parties involved know how and what. I agree, it does not have to be the case, but if true, I do not find Piastri representative for McLaren.

Should McLaren just focus on driver quality, taperoo? Maybe so. But what does it say about the McLaren core values and principles if this is what they condone? How will this affect their brand? I am a man of principles and I am willing to fight for my values, even if it means missing out on other things that are important to me. Maybe that’s my problem in this. Success is not as important as having success with some decency attached to it. I cannot separate the driver talent from behaviour.

[McL-H]

It may appear so, but could also be just an unfortunate coincidence for Alpine. To be fair, Daniel had negotiated a contract with RBR and it's claimed they gave him everything he asked for, only to call Christian and say he was on his way to Renault. I remember Christian saying he thought Daniel was joking. Daniel kind of left Renault stunned when he opted for McLaren before a wheel was turned in the 2020 season. Renault shafted Carlos, after he had cut ties with Red Bull, as he was initially on loan from RBR. Everyone thought he would be offered a contract, but lost his seat, which everyone thought was going to Ocon, as they had agreed a deal with Mercedes, but they signed Daniel suddenly. Meanwhile, prior to all that, McLaren had agreed to take Ocon after the summer break of 2018, he had a seat fit and everything in June, but then Toto decided to send him to a factory backed team, being Renault, we know how that worked out. By the time Toto and Ocon came back, McLaren were signing Carlos, with no strings attached, unlike Ocon would have been. The bottom line is, teams, drivers will always do what's best for them. So don't feel too bad for Alpine, this is how F1 works.

I can agree to a fair point. No, it is not new and the wordings “contracts in F1 are worth as much as the paper its written on” exist for a reason. But I do not agree the case of Ricciardo is comparable to this. He did not owe Red Bull anything anymore. They invested in him and he paid them back a huge deal. It comes closer to the Ocon deal, but I really think this takes it a step further. Renault has invested a lot in Piastri for the past 4 years. They were fortunate with 2 good drivers in their team already and unlucky in finding another spot for him on the grid. They would had given him a contract on Sunday if Alonso had announced it a day earlier. But he waited, purposely or not.

For Piastri to turn his back on a team that has financed him for all these years, and walking out the door freely, just because they are 1 day short of what they were obliged by the contract.. it doesn’t feel right for me. It seems like he is backstabbing them. Even when assuming the speculations of collaboration with Alonso are false.

[Big Tea]

It may appear so, but could also be just an unfortunate coincidence for Alpine. To be fair, Daniel had negotiated a contract with RBR and it's claimed they gave him everything he asked for, only to call Christian and say he was on his way to Renault. I remember Christian saying he thought Daniel was joking. Daniel kind of left Renault stunned when he opted for McLaren before a wheel was turned in the 2020 season. Renault shafted Carlos, after he had cut ties with Red Bull, as he was initially on loan from RBR. Everyone thought he would be offered a contract, but lost his seat, which everyone thought was going to Ocon, as they had agreed a deal with Mercedes, but they signed Daniel suddenly. Meanwhile, prior to all that, McLaren had agreed to take Ocon after the summer break of 2018, he had a seat fit and everything in June, but then Toto decided to send him to a factory backed team, being Renault, we know how that worked out. By the time Toto and Ocon came back, McLaren were signing Carlos, with no strings attached, unlike Ocon would have been. The bottom line is, teams, drivers will always do what's best for them. So don't feel too bad for Alpine, this is how F1 works.

I can agree to a fair point. No, it is not new and the wordings “contracts in F1 are worth as much as the paper its written on” exist for a reason. But I do not agree the case of Ricciardo is comparable to this. He did not owe Red Bull anything anymore. They invested in him and he paid them back a huge deal. It comes closer to the Ocon deal, but I really think this takes it a step further. Renault has invested a lot in Piastri for the past 4 years. They were fortunate with 2 good drivers in their team already and unlucky in finding another spot for him on the grid. They would had given him a contract on Sunday if Alonso had announced it a day earlier. But he waited, purposely or not.

For Piastri to turn his back on a team that has financed him for all these years, and walking out the door freely, just because they are 1 day short of what they were obliged by the contract.. it doesn’t feel right for me. It seems like he is backstabbing them.

The important point here is that they let the drivers contract expire. Right up until midnight (or whenever stated) on that day He owed them allegiance. From that point on, not having a contract seems to indicate your services are no longer required, make your own arrangements.

If he deliberately went out of his way to deceive them, then yes thats bad. But is reply was almost immediate on twitter, so it is unlikely he phoned Zac and said "look, lets stitch up Alpine"

[Swed3121]

On the topic of McLaren throwing their weight around,
I think a lot of people sometimes forget how ruthless and clear McLaren was (and still is ) due to their image as a fun-loving friendly team.
I’m sure behind the scenes, they are just as (if not more) ruthless than they’re competitiors, McLaren just have a very good PR team, and 2 likeable (albeit 1 not very fast) driver(s).

[Swed3121]

It may appear so, but could also be just an unfortunate coincidence for Alpine. To be fair, Daniel had negotiated a contract with RBR and it's claimed they gave him everything he asked for, only to call Christian and say he was on his way to Renault. I remember Christian saying he thought Daniel was joking. Daniel kind of left Renault stunned when he opted for McLaren before a wheel was turned in the 2020 season. Renault shafted Carlos, after he had cut ties with Red Bull, as he was initially on loan from RBR. Everyone thought he would be offered a contract, but lost his seat, which everyone thought was going to Ocon, as they had agreed a deal with Mercedes, but they signed Daniel suddenly. Meanwhile, prior to all that, McLaren had agreed to take Ocon after the summer break of 2018, he had a seat fit and everything in June, but then Toto decided to send him to a factory backed team, being Renault, we know how that worked out. By the time Toto and Ocon came back, McLaren were signing Carlos, with no strings attached, unlike Ocon would have been. The bottom line is, teams, drivers will always do what's best for them. So don't feel too bad for Alpine, this is how F1 works.

I can agree to a fair point. No, it is not new and the wordings “contracts in F1 are worth as much as the paper its written on” exist for a reason. But I do not agree the case of Ricciardo is comparable to this. He did not owe Red Bull anything anymore. They invested in him and he paid them back a huge deal. It comes closer to the Ocon deal, but I really think this takes it a step further. Renault has invested a lot in Piastri for the past 4 years. They were fortunate with 2 good drivers in their team already and unlucky in finding another spot for him on the grid. They would had given him a contract on Sunday if Alonso had announced it a day earlier. But he waited, purposely or not.

For Piastri to turn his back on a team that has financed him for all these years, and walking out the door freely, just because they are 1 day short of what they were obliged by the contract.. it doesn’t feel right for me. It seems like he is backstabbing them.

The important point here is that they let the drivers contract expire. Right up until midnight (or whenever stated) on that day He owed them allegiance. From that point on, not having a contract seems to indicate your services are no longer required, make your own arrangements.

If he deliberately went out of his way to deceive them, then yes thats bad. But is reply was almost immediate on twitter, so it is unlikely he phoned Zac and said "look, lets stitch up Alpine"

It also very important to note that in corporate law, handling in bad faith (I.e colluding in a civil, non-public transaction or negotiation) is not illegal and does not affect any teams legal standing in regards to current contracts.

Or simply said , Alonso and piastri (and possibly macca) could have colluded and alpine could do absolutely nothing about it

[taperoo2k]

I doubt Piastri has any say on when Fernando decides to sign a contract. Fernando left when he pleased (I don't believe he has a personal vendetta against Alpine) and Piastri looked elsewhere as he was contractually able to do. This whole situation reeks of incompetence by Alpine, not deliberate underhand tactics by two unrelated drivers.

Alpine took too long to offer Alonso the kind of contract he wanted, and they pretty much dragged their feet in getting Piastri a drive for 2023. If true about Alpine's option running out on the 31st of July for Piastri ? Tough. If they really wanted to keep him they'd have exercised that option some weeks ago. Though I expect Alpine thought there would be no real options for Piastri.

McLaren will want drivers capable of winning races and championships. Piastri looks like the real deal, much like Lando does. As for Ricciardo ? He just hasn't delivered for McLaren, which might not be entirely his fault.
Besides I don't expect Lando will stick around at McLaren if they are unable to deliver him a car that's capable of challenging for the drivers title. Same thing with Piastri if he joins McLaren.

There isn't any fraud taking place, this is the same old F1 drivers market. Wheeling and dealing between teams, managers and drivers. McLaren can be utterly ruthless in the drivers market when they need to be. If they have signed Piastri then I'd be excited rather than annoyed. Besides Mark Webber is no stranger to the cutthroat side of F1, he'll be the driving force behind Piastri possibly signing for McLaren.

Thank you guys for the counterarguments. My comment was obviously assuming that the speculations that do their round are true. It is not confirmed and only the parties involved know how and what. I agree, it does not have to be the case, but if true, I do not find Piastri representative for McLaren.

Should McLaren just focus on driver quality, taperoo? Maybe so. But what does it say about the McLaren core values and principles if this is what they condone? How will this affect their brand? I am a man of principles and I am willing to fight for my values, even if it means missing out on other things that are important to me. Maybe that’s my problem in this. Success is not as important as having success with some decency attached to it. I cannot separate the driver talent from behaviour.

McLaren have always signed the best drivers they can and then managed the egos behind the scenes. I think you are projecting way too much onto Piastri tbh. Mark Webber is likely the driving force behind the possible move to McLaren. If he sees McLaren as a better opportunity for Piastri than Alpine, then that's a sign McLaren are probably on the right track. if anything it looks like Alpine dropped the ball on this, if the option they had for Piastri expired then you can't really blame Webber for looking at other options for his driver.

As for driver investment ? All teams take a punt on young drivers, sometimes they win and sometimes they lose. McLaren made sure they signed Lando to a long term deal as soon as they could, Alpine don't appear to have done that with Piastri. They assumed Alonso had nowhere to go, and that Piastri would be happy trundling around in the Williams. I honestly think Piastri will not take long to get to grips with F1 and then start putting in the performances.
Tbh if McLaren turned down the chance to sign Piastri they'd be utterly mad.