Fernando Alonso embarrasses Alpine boss with message amid Oscar Piastri chaos
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Fernando Alonso has heaped embarrassment on his soon-to-be former team boss with a cheeky social media message.
Alonso stunned the F1 world earlier this week by announcing he had joined Aston Martin on a “multi-year contract” from 2023, replacing the retiring Sebastian Vettel.
The news seem to shock Alpine as much as anyone as the Renault-backed team had been confident of tying the two-time world champion to a new deal. Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer admitted on Tuesday that the first he knew about Alonso’s decision was when Aston Martin’s press release was published.
READ MORE: Fernando Alonso snubbed Martin Brundle as F1 grid walk was ambushed
Asked if he had spoken to Alonso since, he said: “I haven't talked to him, since he's on a boat, I think, in the Greek Isles somewhere.”
However, that appears to be not the case after Alonso took to Instagram to post a message from his hometown in Oviedo in Spain. The video showed the day’s date, August 2, 2022, before turning on a smiling Alonso, who gave a thumbs up.
The Instagram story featured other clips with the label ‘home sweet home’ in another apparent dig at Szafnauer, who is now in danger of losing a second highly-rated driver.
Where do you think Oscar Piastri will be racing next season? Have your say in the comments section below.
Alpine had been expected to replace Alonso with their reserve driver, Oscar Piastri. But the Australian is reportedly wanted by McLaren as a replacement for the underperforming Daniel Ricciardo.
Szafnauer hinted at issues with Piastri and his manager, ex-F1 driver Mark Webber, in his press briefing on Tuesday. Then, just a few hours later, Alpine announced that Piastri would indeed be driving for them in 2023.
However, suspicions were raised as their statement did not include any quotes from Piastri himself. And those suspicions were confirmed later on Tuesday evening as Piastri publicly rejected Alpine’s statement, insisting he would not be driving for the team next year.
He tweeted: “I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.”
The inference of Piastri’s stance is that he believes he has a deal in place with McLaren.
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