Piastri's F1 future lies in the hands of the Contract Recognition Board

Deal with Alpine and McLaren

Piastri is in a difficult situation. The Australian thought to make a nice switch to McLaren and signed a contract for 2023. Alpine thinks they are also entitled to his services and presented him as the successor of Fernando Alonso. Piastri himself said that he would not act for Alpine, but what does the CRB think about that?

Three independent lawyers will scrutinise the situation on Monday. Alpine claims to have a deal with Piastri that would keep him tied to the French team through 2023 anyway. However, Piastri and his management believe that a deadline in that contract had passed, leaving Piastri free to go where he wanted.

Should Alpine win the case, it remains to be seen whether Piastri will actually race for the French team. There is still a spot available with the team, but it goes without saying that the relationship between the two parties is somewhat strained. Alpine might choose to lend Piastri to another team in order to fulfil their contractual obligations.

Damage claim for Piastri

A win for Alpine would also put McLaren in an interesting situation. They said goodbye (for a lot of money) to Daniel Ricciardo, knowing that Piastri would be his replacement. If that is not possible, McLaren will have to look for another replacement.

If McLaren/Piastri are right, Alpine still has to find a new driver, but even then the case is not completely closed. Alpine has already announced that it wants Piastri to pay a damage claim. It would be several millions that Piastri would owe the team for his part in the Alpine training in recent years. This includes paying for his seat in F2 and for driving several tests.