Webber on compatriot: 'He definitely deserves a place in F1'
General
- GPblog.com
There is still one seat left in Formula 1 for 2022. It is still unknown who will be the teammate of Valtteri Bottas, but it is clear that there are still several options for Alfa Romeo Racing. Oscar Piastri has also been linked with a move to Frederic Vasseur's team, but the Australian is part of the Alpine Academy. Mark Webber comments on the situation of his fellow countryman.
Piastri is currently leading the Formula 2 championship and there is a good chance that the 20-year old will win the title. However, he won't be allowed to race in that class for another year, so he'll have to find a new adventure. The Alpine places are already taken, but maybe his destination will be the premier class of motor sport after all.
Second driver Alfa Romeo still unknown
Webber thinks he knows that internally it is still not decided who will be in the Alfa Romeo car. The former Formula 1 driver also mentions that there are rumours that Andretti wants to buy the Alfa team. If that happens, American IndyCar driver Colton Herta is also suddenly a very conceivable option.
"The Alfa seat is moving round, we see now Andretti floating around in terms of maybe investment – so, wow. It's an interesting last seat, mate, in terms of dynamic, but does he [Piastri] deserve to be in F1? Absolutely We all know that," stated Webber at the F1 Nation Podcast.
"Alpine are very, very keen on him, Alpine do not want him to slip through their fingers to say the least, they're sort of looking to try to re-engage and commit to the future. It's not done yet but they' re trying very, very hard to keep Oscar happy for the future, and that's something that we're going through as we speak."
Opportunities for Piastri at Alpine
Vasseur also indicated at last week's press conference in Turkey that the arrival of Piastri seems a very difficult task to him, purely because Alpine would indeed not have the intention to let him leave for another team. The French team sees Piastri as the ideal successor for Fernando Alonso. The contract of the two-time World Champion expires after 2022.