2022 Alpine F1 Team

[Ground Effect]

But Gasly and Ocon do not get along very well, do they? I don't know what's the reason for that but I don't see them as teammates.

Joe Saward had mentioned this in a recent article, said they were one time best friends, but fell out. I got the impression things got really bitter between them. Gasly said they stopped being friends when he started beating Ocon on track.

[djos]

That strongly suggests they both have fragile egos.

[AR3-GP]

That strongly suggests they both have fragile egos.

Ocon is likely the troublemaker. He seems to have problems with all his teammates and fellow frenchman

[djos]

That strongly suggests they both have fragile egos.

Ocon is likely the troublemaker. He seems to have problems with all his teammates and fellow frenchman

True. Although Gasly apparently demanded RBR make major changes to the car and rubbed a lot of ppl the wrong way there. So his ego could be a problem for other teams.

[Ground Effect]

Daniel's management should be all over Alpine, if I was him, with the payout from McLaren in his back pocket, I'd offer to drive for free in 2023, with an option for 2024. He can't afford to sit on the sidelines for a whole year. If that doesn’t work, he should make the same offer to Alfa Romeo.

[TimW]

How is it that Piastri’s license is only valid for Alpine? The license belongs to the driver and isn’t tied to an specific team… There is no “mileage” requirement for a the Super License, simply an amount of points required (which Piastri has), as well as other requirements (like age - 18+, an actual driver license and passing a test)… I’m not aware of Super License been tied to a Team.

As I understand, the license is only valid in combination with a valid contract submitted with F1's Contract Recognition Board. So if Alpine has a 2023 contract submitted to the CRB, and the CRB upholds Alpine's contract, he can only drive for Alpine. F1 will not allow him to race for another team. CRB must say the Alpine contract is not valid, and he must have a valid contract with another team, to be allowed to drive for another team.

I believe they are different things:

- The super license belongs to the driver, for example today Hulk doesn’t have a contract with anyone, but he still has his license… The license itself belongs to the driver and is renewed in a yearly basis if all requirements are met.

- A driver can only race for a team with a contract recognized by the CRB, but this is a contractual situation that isn’t related to the license itself.

The confusion may be that one of the requirement is that the driver has to drive 300km in an F1 car as a requirement to get it, but this in reality isn’t an issue, nor is it tied to a particular team.

https://racingnews365.com/crb-ruling-de ... i-contract

Without a contract in place, Piastri could not be granted a super licence for his reserve position, which Mercer was aware of.

[RedNEO]

EXCLUSIVE: Piastri on joining McLaren, leaving Alpine and making his F1 debut
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... KkVy7.html

“The CRB ruling has confirmed I didn’t have a contract for the 2023 season [with Alpine],” he said. “I was free to choose my destiny – and I felt McLaren was a great opportunity. They were very straightforward and very keen and enthusiastic to have me. To be completely honest, there was a lack of clarity around my future at the team at Alpine.

“They publicly stated they wished to continue with Fernando for at least one or two more years. I respect that. But after spending the year out, my hopes were firmly set on an Alpine seat and the lack of clarity and, similarly to Fernando, a bit of a strange feeling in negotiations, it didn’t feel like it was the right decision for me [to stay around].

“The lack of clarity around my future, and ultimately a breakdown in trust, I felt the very attractive offer of McLaren and the positive dealings with them thus far were all reasons why I felt McLaren was where I was best off for the future.”

Piastri on… the simulator story and that tweet

Alpine were surprised when Alonso told them he was leaving for Aston Martin in 2023, but moved swiftly to announce Piastri would drive for them. However, the press release intriguingly didn’t feature a quote from Piastri...

It has since emerged that prior to that announcement, Piastri and his management team had told Alpine on two previous occasions that he would not be driving for them next year, which is why Piastri was so disappointed with the way it was handled.

“My decision was made well in advance [of Alonso’s departure], which made Alpine’s announcement probably even more confusing and upsetting because we had told the team that I wasn’t going to continue,” he said. “It was quite upsetting as the announcement was false and it also denied me the opportunity to properly say goodbye to everyone at Enstone.

“I had been with team for a bit over two and a half years now, and for the rest of the team to find out I was leaving in that manner was very upsetting. I still haven’t had the opportunity to say goodbye and it’s something I want to do to show my gratitude to all the men and women at Enstone.”

Sfaznauer has previously said he went to speak to Piastri while he was in the simulator to tell him the announcement was being made. He said Piastri “smiled and was thankful”.

When asked to recall his memory of the meeting, Piastri said: “That was a bizarre and frankly upsetting episode. It was done publicly in front of some members of the team who were oblivious to the situation and I didn’t want to cause a scene in front of them. Once we were in private, I told Otmar what our position was and what he had been told multiple times before that. It was very surprising to me to make that announcement.”

Soon after the release went out, Piastri responded on Twitter. "I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year."

It was an unequivocal statement of his position.

Piastri explained he felt he had to respond because the release “was false”.

He added: “It was the biggest moment of my career and probably my life up to now. To have that falsely announced was something my management and I felt we had to correct and there was also potential legal implications if we didn’t deny the announcement. It was not intended to be pointed or in any way anything more than factual. The last line was quite a strong one, but with the CRB ruling, it shows it was purely a fact.”

After this it’s clear who has no integrity.. Rossi and Otmar!

[JordanMugen]

After this it’s clear who has no integrity.. Rossi and Otmar!

What a mess!

[101FlyingDutchman]

EXCLUSIVE: Piastri on joining McLaren, leaving Alpine and making his F1 debut
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... KkVy7.html

“The CRB ruling has confirmed I didn’t have a contract for the 2023 season [with Alpine],” he said. “I was free to choose my destiny – and I felt McLaren was a great opportunity. They were very straightforward and very keen and enthusiastic to have me. To be completely honest, there was a lack of clarity around my future at the team at Alpine.

“They publicly stated they wished to continue with Fernando for at least one or two more years. I respect that. But after spending the year out, my hopes were firmly set on an Alpine seat and the lack of clarity and, similarly to Fernando, a bit of a strange feeling in negotiations, it didn’t feel like it was the right decision for me [to stay around].

“The lack of clarity around my future, and ultimately a breakdown in trust, I felt the very attractive offer of McLaren and the positive dealings with them thus far were all reasons why I felt McLaren was where I was best off for the future.”

Piastri on… the simulator story and that tweet

Alpine were surprised when Alonso told them he was leaving for Aston Martin in 2023, but moved swiftly to announce Piastri would drive for them. However, the press release intriguingly didn’t feature a quote from Piastri...

It has since emerged that prior to that announcement, Piastri and his management team had told Alpine on two previous occasions that he would not be driving for them next year, which is why Piastri was so disappointed with the way it was handled.

“My decision was made well in advance [of Alonso’s departure], which made Alpine’s announcement probably even more confusing and upsetting because we had told the team that I wasn’t going to continue,” he said. “It was quite upsetting as the announcement was false and it also denied me the opportunity to properly say goodbye to everyone at Enstone.

“I had been with team for a bit over two and a half years now, and for the rest of the team to find out I was leaving in that manner was very upsetting. I still haven’t had the opportunity to say goodbye and it’s something I want to do to show my gratitude to all the men and women at Enstone.”

Sfaznauer has previously said he went to speak to Piastri while he was in the simulator to tell him the announcement was being made. He said Piastri “smiled and was thankful”.

When asked to recall his memory of the meeting, Piastri said: “That was a bizarre and frankly upsetting episode. It was done publicly in front of some members of the team who were oblivious to the situation and I didn’t want to cause a scene in front of them. Once we were in private, I told Otmar what our position was and what he had been told multiple times before that. It was very surprising to me to make that announcement.”

Soon after the release went out, Piastri responded on Twitter. "I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year."

It was an unequivocal statement of his position.

Piastri explained he felt he had to respond because the release “was false”.

He added: “It was the biggest moment of my career and probably my life up to now. To have that falsely announced was something my management and I felt we had to correct and there was also potential legal implications if we didn’t deny the announcement. It was not intended to be pointed or in any way anything more than factual. The last line was quite a strong one, but with the CRB ruling, it shows it was purely a fact.”

After this it’s clear who has no integrity.. Rossi and Otmar!

What a damning indictment. There are always 2 sides to every story but it’s quite clear which side needs to shoulder the blame.

It’s such a shame, the Alpine is a genuinely good steed, but the shenanigans off track is going to cost on track progress. It will also deter sponsor association.

[JordanMugen]

It’s such a shame, the Alpine is a genuinely good steed

Yes, it's a good car, Pat Fry is a good operator bringing continual improvements. Shame the team management is a bit of a mess.

Although still 80+ races to go in the 100 race plan (see below), so we will see if Ocon or Gasly will be receiving the WDC trophy at the FIA gala come 2026.

We have a long-term project, the objective is to reach a level of competitiveness that places us on the podium as many times as possible in 2024. From today in fifth, you can easily find a roadmap. It’s going to be every year a bit better. It’s a 100-race project, four years, four seasons.

Every race we must make progress. It can be progress you see on the track or progress you don’t see, all the little details. The idea is to never stop – and be able to see we’re going in the right direction. Next year, it’ll be a coin tossing year.

All we want is to make sure we have a satisfactory level of performance when we start, which doesn’t put us too far from the top, And then from there, we can carry on our climb to the summit.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... sDTzw.html

On the above basis, it does seem very foolish for Piastri to refuse Alpine's offer to step into an Alpine in 2025 when Alpine plan for it to be a race-winning car... With Piastri's lack of faith (or lack of "integrity" or "loyalty"), Ocon or Gasly will take the WDC spoils instead!

[The Prodigy]

It’s such a shame, the Alpine is a genuinely good steed

Yes, it's a good car, Pat Fry is a good operator bringing continual improvements. Shame the team management is a bit of a mess.

I don't think Pat Fry gets enough credit for the Alpine A522. The car is good with a lot of potential, so far every update has improved the car and the team seems to understand the car very well too.

The engine is also very good.

[101FlyingDutchman]

It’s such a shame, the Alpine is a genuinely good steed

Yes, it's a good car, Pat Fry is a good operator bringing continual improvements. Shame the team management is a bit of a mess.

I don't think Pat Fry gets enough credit for the Alpine A522. The car is good with a lot of potential, so far every update has improved the car and the team seems to understand the car very well too.

The engine is also very good.

Agreed. Wish they had just committed to ALO for 2 years. The guy isn’t slowing down at all. You don’t get a more committed driver. Anyway. What is done is done

[SchuMassa]

P12-P13, after sending Fernando out in traffic.

[The Prodigy]

P12-P13, after sending Fernando out in traffic.

Traffic was a problem but he also made a mistake. But Alonso was definitely much faster then Ocon and he should be top ten.

[SmallSoldier]

As I understand, the license is only valid in combination with a valid contract submitted with F1's Contract Recognition Board. So if Alpine has a 2023 contract submitted to the CRB, and the CRB upholds Alpine's contract, he can only drive for Alpine. F1 will not allow him to race for another team. CRB must say the Alpine contract is not valid, and he must have a valid contract with another team, to be allowed to drive for another team.

I believe they are different things:

- The super license belongs to the driver, for example today Hulk doesn’t have a contract with anyone, but he still has his license… The license itself belongs to the driver and is renewed in a yearly basis if all requirements are met.

- A driver can only race for a team with a contract recognized by the CRB, but this is a contractual situation that isn’t related to the license itself.

The confusion may be that one of the requirement is that the driver has to drive 300km in an F1 car as a requirement to get it, but this in reality isn’t an issue, nor is it tied to a particular team.

https://racingnews365.com/crb-ruling-de ... i-contract

Without a contract in place, Piastri could not be granted a super licence for his reserve position, which Mercer was aware of.

Thanks! I’ve read now very different statements in regards to the Super License by different people supposedly in “the know”… But I believe it is ultimately just semantics.