Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer admits he wouldn’t be surprised to learn that there is a secret ploy against the Alpine Formula 1 squad.
On the first day of summer break, Fernando Alonso announced that he would be joining Aston Martin in 2023 on a multi-year deal.
It was expected that Alpine junior Oscar Piastri would take his seat, however when the team declared that it had promoted him for 2023, Piastri took to social media to deny the claim.
It is believed that Piastri has an agreement in place with McLaren to replace Australian compatriot Daniel Ricciardo next year.
Asked by El Confidencial if he believes there was information being shared behind the backs of Alpine between Alonso, Piastri and Piastri’s manager Mark Webber, Szafnauer said: “I have no record of it.
“But this is Formula 1 and maybe in a couple of years someone says that they have evidence of shared information, I would not be surprised.
“I always tell everyone that in Formula 1 you have to act as if everyone knows everything. That there are no secrets in these things.
“When you ask someone not to say anything, they act like everyone knows. That’s how I’ve run my business in Formula 1 for 25 years. And if this has happened, you should not be surprised.”
Piastri’s plans for 2023 have not yet been officially confirmed, however Szafnauer has questioned why the Australian would want to depart the Alpine stable.
“The strategic plan is very good and Piastri knows it, better even than McLaren’s,” he said. “We are ahead of them in the Championship and we hope to be ahead of them at the end of the World Championship.
“We have a big budget and people with a lot of experience. I just arrived, I know the areas to reinforce, the technical team, we are recruiting people in the areas that we need to improve and we are implementing new tools.
“In our future, in that 100-race plan that we are all working on, I think there is also room for Piastri. And we have supported him.
“There should be some loyalty to the fact that we have literally invested millions and millions of euros to prepare him. So I don’t get it either, you should ask him.”
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