Alpine, which has put Piastri through its junior programme and gave him a large amount of F1 testing as preparation, thought that it had a legitimate claim on the Australian, as did McLaren.
The dispute went to the FIA Contract Recognition Board, made up of international lawyers, to settle F1 contract disputes. They heard the case on Monday, 30 August and announced the decision today.
“The tribunal has issued a unanimous decision that the only contract to be recognised by the board is the contract between McLaren Racing Limited and Mr Piastri dated 4 July 2022,” said the FIA in a statement. “Mr Piastri is entitled to drive for McLaren Racing Limited for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.”
The decision reveals that McLaren signed Piastri the day after the British Grand Prix, and almost two months before announcing that Ricciardo would leave.
“The entire team is delighted to welcome Oscar to McLaren for the 2023 F1 season,” said McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl. “He has an impressive racing career to date, and we are sure that together with Lando, he will be able to help us move another step forward towards our ambitions.
“We still have an important job to do this season which the team remains focused on, before we will then ensure Oscar is integrated into the team as quickly as possible and ready for the challenges ahead. We look forward to preparing for an exciting 2023 season together.”
Piastri has become F1’s hottest up-and-coming property after rocketing through the single-seater junior support series. After winning the Formula Renault Cup in 2019, he then followed it up with the FIA F3 title and then F2 crown in consecutive years.
The Australian’s superlative form brought him to the attention of Alpine, which signed him to its junior programme in 2020, with idea of grooming him for a place in F1.
Piastri was given F1 seat time by Alpine, but has chosen McLaren
Joe Portlock/F1 via Getty Images
After spending this season on the sidelines as a reserve driver, the initial plan this season was for him to go a team further down the grid – most likely to be Williams – before heading to Alpine for 2024.
It appears that he and his manager Mark Webber had other ideas, preferring a move to McLaren.
When the shock Alonso switch came, Alpine decided to accelerate Piastri’s promotion, but the Australian had already committed to racing for its midfield rival.
“Oscar is one of the up-and-coming talents coming through the feeder series into F1 and we are delighted to see him join the team for 2023,” added McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
“Winning both F3 and F2 in successive rookie seasons is a real achievement and testament to his talent in single-seater racing. In Lando and Oscar we have a young, exciting F1 line-up with a huge amount of potential, standing us in good stead to achieve our future ambitions.”
Alpine is now left looking for another driver to fill its vacant 2023 seat, with strong rumours linking Pierre Gasly to the team, despite his ongoing contract with AlphaTauri.
“Alpine F1 Team thanks the Contract Recognition Board for convening on Monday and we acknowledge the decision they have made,” said the team in a statement. “We consider the matter closed on our side and will announce our full 2023 driver line-up in due course.”