It’s prime-time intrigue in Formula One 2022.
Of all the most controversial events in this 2022 Formula One season, surpassing the Alpine/Oscar Piastri/McLaren affair is very difficult. After being picked by the French team to replace the departing Fernando Alonso for 2023, the Australian decided on all things on Twitter, announcing that he would not be driving for them.
Of all the confusion, this could happen if the results go either way.
Let’s start if Alpine wins the case. If the French team gets their way, Piastri will have to drive for one season minimum. Or does he? Even if Piastri might get the drive, it could get messy because you will now have a person driving for a team he will not get along with. As says the punch line in the movie Jerry Maguire, it is all about “Show me the money.” McLaren, who wants Piastri, will have to offer big-time cash to get the Australian.
However, if they want Piastri more, McLaren will have to contribute money to get a prize possession who has never turned a wheel in a Formula One race. Moreover, the Woking-based England team just lost nearly $20 million U.S. dollars excusing Daniel Ricciardo.
It is easier if McLaren wins because Piastri will join Lando Norris, giving both young drivers time to progress. With Norris already improving, Piastri will have to catch up, depending on the talent many think he possesses. For Alpine, all the time wasted on Piastri will make him the bad kid on the team, and future drivers will have to look at the team carefully.
But now comes the fun part. If a seat is open for Alpine, who could take it? There are many options, but the favorite is Ricciardo, who has already been on the team for a couple of seasons before jumping to McLaren. Many changes have come since. Alpine changed its name from Renault to Alpine and replaced Jerome Stoll, Cyril Abiteboul, and Alain Prost with Laurent Rossi from Google and the new CEO of the Renault Group (as it is now), with Luca DeMeo from Italian agency TIM. A new team manager, Otmar Szafnauer, also joined the group.
But after Ricciardo decided to leave, De Meo was not involved, but he is now, along with Rossi. Szafnauer is not involved with this, so the final decision (when it is time to hire another driver) might not come to Ricciardo. He has been there before and, according to reports, got De Meo upset when Ricciardo broke the contract.
If not Ricciardo, then who? The long favorite is Nico Hulkenberg, a veteran who is the test and development driver for Aston Martin and who had already driven for the team when it was Renault.
And one of the most interesting prospects is current Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly, even though his contract for the Italian team has one year to go. But “Show me the money” could return, even if Red Bull boss Dr. Helmut Marko is paid well to move Gasly away to a team with a current driver who does not get along with the Rouen, France native. In addition, if Gasly can move to Alpine, Dr. Marko can select drivers rumored to be either younger than Schumacher or go with American Colton Herta from McLaren to replace Gasly.
All this back-and-forth could conclude by the time the Italian Grand Prix happens in a couple of weeks. On the other hand, it could continue for a bit longer. Either way, it’s the prime-time soap opera in Formula One 2022.
