Alpine could seek millions in compensation at the high court if their Australian reserve Oscar Piastri refuses to race for them next season
Renault-owned Alpine announced highly-rated Piastri last week as replacement for double world champion Fernando Alonso in their 2023 lineup but the 21-year-old has ruled it out.McLaren, who are fighting Alpine for fourth in the championship, have reportedly told Daniel Ricciardo he is being dropped for Piastri, last year’s Formula Two champion.
“If the CRB says ‘your licence is only valid at Alpine’, and then he [Piastri] says ‘that’s great but I’m never driving for them, I’ll just sit out a year’, then you’ve got to go to the high court for compensation,” said Szafnauer. An F1 power unit alone costs some 1.75m euros and there is also the expense of a dedicated test team of mechanics and engineers who need flights, cars and hotels.