Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer has left the door open to Daniel Ricciardo’s return with uncertainty surrounding his and Oscar Piastri’s future.
Having lost Fernando Alonso to Aston Martin in 2023, Alpine announced that Australian Piastri would take the Spaniard’s place next year.
But in a major bombshell to shake up the F1 paddock, Piastri denied on social media that a deal had been done and emphatically declared: “I will not be driving for Alpine next year.”
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This has led to rumors swirling about whether Piastri already has a deal secured elsewhere, possibly at McLaren to replace struggling Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo has a third year to run on his McLaren contract but has been under pressure, while Piastri’s manager Mark Webber is understood to have aggressively lobbied the team to stick with Piastri ahead of the departure of Alonso.
If a move from McLaren materializes for Piastri, it would leave Ricciardo without a seat for 2023.
One option for Ricciardo could be an awkward return to Alpine (formerly Renault), who he disappointed in 2020 by leaving after just two seasons.
However, the team has since undergone a change in management, while Szafnauer sees no reason why Ricciardo cannot be a potential option.
Szafnauer confirmed it motorsport.com.au that the team has already received numerous calls from other drivers.
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Asked about the possibility of Ricciardo returning, he pointed to the example of Alonso, whose career in F1 has included two stays at McLaren and three at Alpine-Renault.
“I mean, if you look at Fernando, for example, he comes and goes, and I think that happens to other drivers as well,” he told the publication.
“And I don’t think that’s a problem at all. I think what we have to focus on is, as I say, the plans we have for the next few races in ’89-88.
“We have to make sure we supplement that plan with the best driver we can, and there are some options for us. And we put the best driver next to Esteban [Ocon]so that we can move forward towards what we have planned”.
However, Alpine hopes to hold on to Piastri, saying: “We believe we are legally correct in our statement (about his signing).”
Szafnauer told the publication, albeit before Piastri’s statement, that there is no reason why a healthy working partnership cannot be maintained with the Australian if the team gets their wish.