Oscar Piastri opens up on "bizarre and upsetting" split with Alpine

Oscar Piastri has given his first interview since being officially added to the McLaren line-up, opening up on the "bizarre and upsetting" circumstances of his split from Alpine.

Speaking to Formula1.com correspondent Lawrence Barretto, Piastri outlined the timeline that led him to be at the centre of attention and a divisive legal battle.

“I was free to choose my destiny – and I felt McLaren was a great opportunity," said the Australian.

"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."

Piastri said that he felt he had been treated in the same way as Spanish veteran Fernando Alonso, who left the team and opened up the spot for him in the first place.

"…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."

Dieter Rencken described for RacingNews365 how Piastri's management, including former F1 driver Mark Webber, were frustrated by missed deadlines and a last-minute submission for Piastri's reserve driver role that almost saw him miss out on a super licence.

Piastri said that the announcement of his F1 future was the biggest moment of his career and that he was disappointed for it to be handled in this way.

He claims that he outlined to Alpine management multiple times that he intended to leave the team, and that they announced him as a future driver without informing him, calling the moment he found out "bizarre and frankly upsetting."

"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 [Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer] what our position was and what he had been told multiple times before that."

Szafnauer confirmed on Saturday that he had told the Australian of the news while he was in the simulator, but reiterated his claim that Piastri received the news positively.

"It wasn’t a group of people, it wasn’t bizarre, and he smiled and said ‘thank you’."

For now, Piastri remains reserve driver at Alpine, which Szafnauer has indicated may change in coming weeks.

Piastri says he is happy to carry out those duties, but will be fine either way - he now has less than six months to wait until his full-time debut in the McLaren garage.

Watch every session of the 2022 Formula 1 season live on Kayo Sports. Try free today!