#this is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023 I will not be driving for Alpine next year

[insert-stupid-username]

[blorbocedes]

Are the alpine bros shaving their heads in solidarity?? Is this an initiation ritual for Doohan?? Is Franco next?

Is this why Oscar "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. " Piastri announced his move to Mclaren??

So many questions 🫨

fernando asked flavio to prove his love by making his new boys bald

[sepangcircuit]

happy anniversary to "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."

[georgegraphys]

To be honest, I would not fully trust Ola Kallenius either despite his words backing George. Why? Because he's a part of this big multinational corporation and this multinational corporation is FAR from the word 'good'.

But what we're talking about is taking advantage of George being favorable in their eyes for now. Read that 'for now' again. To manipulate the long terms, you need to take advantage of what is happening in short terms first. You can't be thinking too far ahead, overthinking and speculating about things, and making rash decisions over some speculations. That'd be a self-fulfilling prophecy. You can't play the short game when you're in a position like George. You have to play the long game.

If I were to be REAL honest here, I do want George to take Red Bull's offer back in 2021 because they're great, they're fast, they're amazing. But looking at the other aspects here, you wouldn't want him to be there. You should stop seeing things from just a two dimensional perspective. Moving teams solves nothing and i think we learnt enough from several drivers who made the wrong choice due to greed and being impatient.

In every part of an organization, there is something called homeowners. Just like Max's home is RB and Charles' home (might be) is Ferrari, George's home is Mercedes. And that is a solid thing for 2-3 upcoming years unless something happened. Why do i say so? Because these teams aren't the backmarkers where everyone is replaceable, they are the frontrunners with big brands behind them that not only values winning and racing but also values loyalty, brand image, and more. What they're also trying to find is someone who could be the face of the team for a long time not just 2-3 seasons and dip.

And let's take things real here. If Mercedes did NOT value George, they wouldn't pressure him to make a decision between choosing BMW or Mercedes very early in his formula series career. Why is it important? Because if George is not important to them, the moment George rejects Toto for Carlin Volkswagen is the moment they back out and move on. But they didn't. That is exhibit one.

Exhibit two is that in 2018, Mercedes is torn on who to give an F1 seat. Ocon or Russell? We all know the answer in 2019. Exhibit three, in 2020 when George's 2021 seat is threatened with Williams, Red Bull allegedly offered Mercedes to 'lend' George out to them for a year but Mercedes REFUSED because they do not want George outside of their institution even for a year (even if that 'lend out' move benefits Mercedes because from there Mercedes can see how George performs in better car). They'd rather George go jobless and drive in DTM for a year rather than lending him out to Red Bull. If Mercedes does not care about him, they would let him leave just like they let Ocon leave to go to Alpine.

And fourth, we have Kallenius basically on Toto's neck about how he wants George on that seat and not Max or Valtteri or whoever Toto wants. Then we also have Mercedes literally going feral on the mention of George going somewhere else (read: RBR). This happened on the same day as the British GP

My point here is if they do not give a shit, if they do not at the very least back George up, they would have let George go in 2021. And if you're saying "but that's 2021, Ari. We're talking about now", then look at his previous contract renewal. We're supposed to have George's silly season THIS YEAR because his original contract with Merc is supposed to end this year but we DIDN'T! Why? Because the contract is already renewed somewhere in December 2022 or Spring 2023! Again if they're planning to replace him, they would not make him sign a contract just for several months to his Merc career. And to add on top of that, George literally talks about how his contract is so EASILY signed and Mercedes and him were giggling over it like a married couple while LH and Mercedes (read: Kallenius) were in trenches, fighting endless war for a contract negotiation.

We cannot be 100% sure on the long run on who backs who even with Max in Red Bull. There is NOTHING certain in F1. Things change drastically. This is a very dynamic sport. But to manipulate the longer term, you need to take a hold of shorter terms first. If Kallenius, for now, sees George in a favorable place, that's good. But if in the future, he doesn't then it is what it is. It's business. You can't be idealistic about it. Moving teams is NEVER the solution unless you want George to make a decision blunder like other drivers who weren't patient enough.

It is painful but we have to play the long game.

[fool-counter]

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.

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.

fool count: 1

I should make a bingo card for all the weird subjects you fools send me

[my-opinions]

Why Oscar Piastri Has Not Made a Mistake

Bear with me on this one because I feel that the minute discussions start about Oscar and how he got into F1, Daniel Ricciardo stans (not all of you just the very few in a minority which is making the rest of you look bad) say he’s a traitor and doesn’t deserve his seat. People are also saying he “should’ve gone to Alpine” like he had a choice.

Let’s look at this clearly. Oscar got his seat because of his stellar junior results. Winning F2 and F3 back to back in his rookie years (and Formula Renault in his second year in 2019) is no easy feat. That is why he got his seat. He’s good. Really good. That is why so many teams were fighting over him.

Now, I feel like a fool for saying this because it has been said so many times before but, Alpine didn’t want Oscar. They weren’t going to give him a seat. If Sebastian did not retire Alonso would still be at Alpine. (And then Seb would be getting podiums, but I try not to think about that) But essentially, Alpine liked Oscar as decoration never someone they actually wanted to put in the car. They didn’t even give the man a practice session (pre-drama). Only when Alonso dropped them did they want Oscar.

 I saw an article (I don’t know how true it was) that said that he didn’t even have a proper contract for his reserve driver role. They just submitted a terms sheet to the FIA, which, I’m not sure how much people know about contractual law, but a terms sheet is not legally binding. This happened because Alpine’s legal department was understaffed and they just never sent Oscar or Mark Webber (ex-F1 driver and his manager) the official contract which stipulated his role as a reserve driver and then what he would do from 2023 and beyond. This was supposed to be THREE years at Williams and only then would he go to a MIDFIELD team in Alpine. (It was different for George because he was promised a Mercedes seat. A seat at a team that has been dominating the sport for years is different from one at a team that hasn’t even been top of the midfield.)

Now lets look at this from Oscars point of view. You have already skipped out a year during your best years because your team couldn’t secure you a seat in time. Then you’ve been offered a seat at the worst team on the grid for multiple years or a seat at a team who has been comfortably in the top 5 for the past 3 years. Lets remember, ALPINE WAS NEVER AN OPTION FOR OSCAR. IT WAS WILLIAMS OR MCLAREN.

Looking at the grid now, it is clear that maybe McLaren isn’t the best team. But I don’t think anybody could expect how monumentally shit they were going to be this year. Of all the predictions I have seen, everybody was saying that Williams would be the worst team, and honestly scoring a total of 8 points last year, I wouldn’t go there either if I had the option of a midfield team.

After this he signed with McLaren in early July, he cant just go to Alpine after signing with another team. Maybe we can blame Oscar for not communicating this but I assume sans the whole drama with Alonso it was supposed to come out a bit more naturally because Daniel was still contracted until the end of 2023.

Anyway what I’m trying to say is, everybody hating on Oscar for “choosing the wrong team” must just shut up because you look stupid. It was McLaren or Williams, Alpine was never an option and we know McLaren can and will improve while Williams is not given. Also by going to McLaren, even if the car is awful, the comparison between him and Lando (who is talked as though he’s the next WDC, which is fair, I mean he’s great) is enough. Like Lando is ridiculously good and if Oscar is anywhere near that then he’s seen as doing a fantastic job.

Anyways all I have to say is please stop hating on Oscar, he deserves to be there and is doing a fantastic job.

[fujispeedway]

opinions on next year's new driver pairings (assuming liam gets the rb seat):

mercedes 1263: !!!!!!!!!!!!! soooo so excited i think this will be so much fun. love that they are both comical stereotypes of their respective countries i think this is a genuinely really solid dynamic and im really looking forward to it. i dont know im kind of starting to feel like lewis leaving is maybe the only way for mercedes to be able to move on from 2021/22 and i think this duo is optimistic and also determined and hard working in a way the team really needs to revitalize itself

ferrari 1644: this scares me. like the actual interpersonal dynamic i think is completely fine i think they respect each other a lot and are at such different stages in their careers that it circumvents a lot of the ... current ferrari teammate issues but the fanbases. you know. you get it. sigh. its not gonna be pretty

rb 2230: technically not new but still fairly nascent anyway i think these guys are going to kill each other genuinely. like in the past they got away with being compared more to dr3 than each other but now it's direct competition for a seat that frankly i dont think either of them deserve and they are both incredibly incredibly competitive and volatile i only see this getting worse

haas 3187: everyones catastrophizing about this but i think itll be fine honestly. maybe im wrong but ive never seen the 31 everyone makes jokes about outside like brief flashes at monaco. honestly i see this being very similar to the sauber 2018 lineup like it doesnt even make sense to compare their perfomance theyre getting completely different things out of being here at this stage in their respective careers. do we think ollie knows who sidney crosby is or

williams 2355: Everyone here is just going to be miserable for as long as this lasts. i think 55 is a total soul suck of a person who is completely incompatible with anything jv is trying to achieve but i also dont think jv knows what he wants anymore and i think 23 got promised a lot of things that are no longer feasible. this is just bad all around

alpine 710: this is gonna be really fun i think and this is 100% my bias towards jd7 but these are both fun chill guys who can separate the on-track stuff from their actual relationship in my opinion. alpine's still rebuilding and the stakes are pretty low they just need two reliable drivers to not completely waste the budget on stupid crashes also i just think these guys will have fun being goofy together

sauber ?27: why has gabriel bortoleto not announced a number yet theres like 80 left. this is throwing off this entire post. i dont know anything about gabriel bortoleto i think 27 is probably really really regretting signing this contract at this point i think this might be miserable but in like a williams 2023 way. sorry sauber i know you guys are really trying but jesus christ its not getting any better is it

[sebscore]

GOSSIP GRID

pairings: pierre gasly x driver!reader / charles leclerc x driver!reader / yuki tsunoda x driver!reader

warnings: mention of sex and the whole piastri x alpine drama.

author’s note: this idea was dropped in my inbox, so thank you to the person that submitted it! I hope you like it!

• • • • • • •

“Oh my god, Gasly! You’re never gonna believe this- oh, hey Yuki. Charles.” Y/N found them in front of the Alpha Tauri hospitality.

They greeted her back. “Hi, Y/N!” “What’s going on?” Yuki simply giving her a small wave.

“I just found out about something, but you can’t tell anyone!” The young woman unsubtle looked around them, scanning if anyone was eavesdropping on their conversation.

Charles, Yuki and Pierre’s face immediately turned serious at her words, taking a step closer to her.

“Allegedly, Alpine are going to announce Oscar Piastri as their new driver for the next season over the summer break.” Y/N whispered to them.

Charles furrowed his eyebrows and Yuki glanced at an unimpressed Pierre. “That’s it?”

“That’s it?” She mockingly copied him, “of course that’s not it, you bimbo.”

“The problem is that apparently McLaren want to sign him for the next season and Oscar is actually considering it.” She continued, looking at their reactions as she finished the whispers she had heard.

The three of them looked at her wide-eyed, not believing what they were hearing. “That can’t be true.” The Monegasques said, shaking his head.

“Yeah, and McLaren already have their two drivers for the next season, that wouldn’t make any sense.” Pierre concluded, finding it weird that McLaren would drop one of their drivers for a rookie.

Y/N shrugged her shoulders, simply chorusing what she heard from her “sources”. “That’s that I was told.”

“Yeah, but you believe anything if it’s any form of drama.” Pierre argued.

“That’s not true.”

“Y/N, remember when that rumour went around that you were pregnant? You literally believed that even thought you hadn’t had sex in months.” Charles added, pleading Pierre’s case that the woman was gullible.

She gasped as Charles’ words left his mouth, making the Japanese man next to her chuckle. “Hey! There was that girl on Dr. Phil that said she was pregnant by Jesus, you never know what can happen!” She defended herself, even though there was some truth to the drivers’ claims.

“But I am serious about this! You’ll see when that announcement is made that I’m right.” Y/N smirked, pointing her finger at herself and walking away.

“The girl's crazy.”

“She’s gonna get herself in trouble one day.”

“[BREAKING] Oscar Piastri drives for Alpine in 2023!”

“Oscar Piastri denies he will be driving for Alpine next year!”

“Piastri allegedly to sign contract with McLaren to succes Daniel Ricciardo!”

The headlines sounded, the summer break being bombarded by F1 drama.

The two French speaking men who had condemned their female friend for believing anything and everyone, were absolutely shocked that every single thing she had told them was actually true.

As soon as Oscar had send out his tweet, claiming that he wasn’t going to drive for Alpine, Pierre called her.

“Okay, how the fuck did you actually figure that out?”

Y/N loudly laughed, like a super villain would do. “Oh, now you believe me, Gasly? What were you saying a few weeks ago again? That I was gullible?”

“Alright, alright… I was wrong, I’m sorry.” He apologized. “But just- how?”

“Look Pierre, when you’ve got a pretty face like mine, it’s not that hard to get information out of people.” She smirked over the phone.

The Frenchmen couldn’t help but give her credit, she knew how to get stuff done. “Well, I’m impressed, Y/N. I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

“… if that’s your way to get me all like “oh no, Pierre, you’ve got a pretty face too” forget it!”

“I tried.”

[nonameformeunfortunately]

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

I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.

In fact I will not be driving for ANY f1 team, I do not have a super license. I’m sorry for any confusion or inconvenience.

-Dani ❤️

[sainz-leclerc]

my prediction on the whole Oscar situation is that he will go to Williams and replace Latifi

his tweet said he hasn’t signed with Alpine for 2023 but I think the tweet hints that’s he HAS already signed for an F1 team for 2023 but NOT with Alpine and Oscar just hasn’t announced this move yet

I don’t think he’ll go to McLaren as Dans contract means he has his seat for the 2023 season - if McLaren offered Oscar that seat they would be breaching his contract!!

sending this so I can have a record of my predictions rn and see if I am right (or horrifically wrong😂) when all the news comes out lol

-🏎

No bcs at this point I would want Oscar at alpine. Part of me still hopes he is just messing with us and will soon clarify he is in fact signing with Alpine and that Danny is staying at mclaren 100% for 2023. In my opinion Alpine is just better than Williams and his friendship with Estie is adorable 😭💞

[f1]

Piastri makes shock announcement he will not debut in F1 with Alpine next year | 2023 F1 season

Oscar Piastri has issued a statement denying he will make his Formula 1 debut for Alpine next year, hours after the team claimed he would. Alpine announced this afternoon its reserve driver had been chosen to take the place of Fernando Alonso in 2023. It followed Aston Martin’s surprise announcement yesterday that they had hired Alonso for next season. Piastri, the reigning Formula 2 champion, seemed a logical choice of replacement for Alonso. However he has now issued a statement insisting he will not race for the team next year. “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,” he posted on social media. “This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. “I will not be driving for Alpine next year.” Prior to Alonso’s decision to leave Alpine, the team had looked at loaning him to a rival such as Williams. Rumours also linked him to McLaren as a potential replacement for the under-performing Daniel Ricciardo, though he already holds a contract for next year. The Piastri situation holds remarkable parallels to IndyCar driver Alex Palou’s ongoing wrangle with his Ganassi team. It announced last month it had taken up an option on the driver’s services for next year, only for Palou to immediately contradict that. McLaren SP subsequently announced they had signed Palou. The driver and Ganassi are now heading to court over the dispute. Don't miss anything new from RaceFans Follow RaceFans on social media: 2022 F1 season Browse all 2022 F1 season articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net

[wtflife01]

I really feel bad for Guanyu Zhou, the guy gets so much hate on social media when he hasn't done anything wrong.

that people are mad because Gio leaves: I can completely understand, but that does not give the right to harass anyone. Gio was adorable and funny in the interview, but he stayed 3 years with Alfa because Ferrari paid for his seat and that's because Ferrari and Alfa parted ways about the young drivers, because he didn't score that much (21 points since 2019 against 57 for his teammate) and did not bring money that they made this decision. I'm sorry to say it, but it makes sense that they could not keep him as harsh as it is - and after his contract ends, if Zhou hasn't scored a lot or Alfa has enough sponsors, they'll leave him the same way as Gio for someone who will match Alfa's needs.

for those who are mad that Zhou has a seat unlike Oscar: it was most likely Alpine who prevented him from joining Alfa. Fernando had signed for 2021 and 2022, so Oscar should replace him in 2023 and he will therefore have a better car (Alpine won this year and scored podium while Alfa is far from close to this result).

last but not least, people who are openly racist because he is Chinese and make "jokes" like "less 20 social points", "he will make Bottas eat dog" or on the Chinese political regime: I don't even know how to describe them, they are so ridiculous and pathetic. Asian hatred must be taken seriously and must end.

(I'm sorry admin for this long ask, but I'm really tired of the hundreds of comments under every ig post of Alfa or any account that posts him, Oscar or Gio)

.

[neptunium134]

My thoughts on the Mercedes seat

Honestly, I don't care who gets it. There are only 2 drivers I don't like this season and neither are in contention for the seat.

That being said, let me line out my thoughts;

I think Toto will keep Val for 2022 cuz Merc needs to work on their car following the new regulations.

Yes, George is a fantastic driver and definitely deserves the Merc seat (as do many other drivers I can name, but that's not the point of this post), but I think Toto will want to keep the Hamilton-Bottas balance until the car is sorted.

So I personally think that the earliest Russell would move to Merc is 2023, especially as Merc hasn't dropped any news yet, and I believe they would have by now, as other teams are confirming drivers (see Alpine).

With that, what about Williams?

Well, assuming Merc and Williams do a simple swap, that would make the Merc lineup Hamilton/Russell and the Williams lineup will be Latifi/Bottas.

But that's assuming Bottas wants to move to Williams, what if he looks for another seat, say at Red Bull where they put a lot of emphasis on the 'second driver', or he pulls a Vettel and goes to a smaller team, like Alfa Romeo? Or if he just decides to leave F1 altogether and chase other opportunities like cycling or running?

Ignoring him moving to a new team because I haven't the time nor energy to make up 100 different scenarios about that, I will be looking at three options Williams can take.

Now, anyone who watches FE will be aware that Toto said both the Merc EQ drivers- Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne- deserve to be in F1. Ignoring that, once again, we can argue many, many drivers- especially those who race in FE- deserve to be in F1 (I can think of two drivers I'd happily replace with someone like Sam Bird or Alex Lynn, or Stoff and/or Nyck), we will focus on the aftermath of Toto's statement.

Instantly this blew up with people assuming that meant Russell was, indeed, going to Merc and one of the EQ boys would replace him.

Let explore those options, shall we?

The scenario; Mercedes have signed George Russell, Valtteri Bottas has left F1 and now Williams are looking to sign another driver, but don't want to pull from their Academy or F2, for reasons. What are their options?

Well, I can see three. Two are similar, one requires a slight overhaul.

The first is sign reigning FE champion Nyck de Vries alongside Nicholas Latiffi. This gives Nyck a chance in F1, it brings prestige to Williams as Nyck is a champion and his championship brings desperately-needed money to Williams, a team that struggles financially. The de Vries-Latiffi lineup brings in money for Williams and it gives a young driver a chance at F1.

The second option is the slight opposite; sign Stoffel Vandoorne. Vandoorne has raced in F1 before, having raced with McLaren, a team Merc has ties to (most notably in terms of their reserve driver, who is, ironically, Vandoorne) in the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Unfortunately, Vandoorne had a bad run in F1 as McLaren was riding on the back of a lot of bad seasons, meaning Vandoorne had one of the slowest cars on the grid and often DNFed. The question here is; would Vandoorne want to move back to F1? In a 2019 interview, he said he preferred FE, however, with the news Mercedes EQ are leaving FE, would Vandoorne jump at the chance of a solid seat or would he take his chances with the new McLaren FE team? Let's assume he does take the Williams seat; what does he bring to Williams? Well, first of all, his experience. As mentioned previously, Vandoorne has had experience in F1 with McLaren, a Mercedes buyer, much like Williams. Vandoorne's F1 experience, as well as looking at how McLaren managed to come from being one of the worst cars on the grid to getting multiple podiums in roughly two years (the same two years McLaren had the famous Alonso-Vandoorne partnership), may be an incentive to sign Vandoorne. He is a well-known name, and, like de Vries, will bring much-needed money to Williams. Whilst he currently does not have an FE championship, he did finish 2nd in 2020 and has won races in FE.

Out of the two, I, personally, would sign Vandoorne. Not because he's my favourite driver before anyone says that, but because I believe he would bring to Williams what Alonso is bringing to Alpine and Vettel to Aston Martin; experience. I think Vandoorne would be the better of the two in order to help develop the car and get Williams closer to the midfield. Don't get me wrong, de Vries could certainly bring experience as well, but looking at where McLaren are now, in 2021, to where they were in 2018, I believe Vandoorne could help the team a bit more, assuming that take his advice the way McLaren did.

So, what's this third option, you may ask? Well, it may be a little controversial, but the third option I propose is; sign both de Vries and Vandoorne. This means not renewing Latiffi's contract, maybe moving him to FE in place of either de Vries or Vandoorne?, and maybe losing a good chunk of money, but Williams do gain an FE champion and an F1 veteran, both of whom are bringing money and experience with them. Also, a secure, steadfast partnership. de Vries and Vandoorne have been teammates for two FE seasons and get on famously, so they would already have a stable working relationship. That may be something Williams would like.

Personally, out of all three scenarios, I would go for option 3. Not because I don't like Latiffi, nor do I think he doesn't deserve to be in F1; I am thinking that, in terms of experience and help for the team, de Vries and Vandoorne would be a good duo, and would hopefully help Williams develop and get closer to competitors such as Aston Martin and Alpine.

Of course, all of these are assuming Mercedes drop Bottas for the 2023 season.

To sum up; I believe the earliest Mercedes will sign Russell is 2023, and I think the best course of action for Williams, if they are not doing a simple swap with Mercedes to make the Bottas-Latiffi pairing, is to sign Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne as their 2023 lineup.

[f1]

Oscar Piastri insists I will not be driving for Alpine next year after team announce him as Alonsos replacement

Oscar Piastri has taken to his social media channels to say that he "will not be driving for Alpine next year", hours after the team announced they would be promoting him to a full time race seat in 2023. Piastri, 21, was announced as Aston Martin-bound Fernando Alonso's replacement for 2023 earlier on Tuesday but the Australian driver then took to Twitter and Instagram to insist otherwise. ANALYSIS: Why Alonso accepted Aston Martin’s advances and signed a shock deal – and why it could be a perfect match "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," he wrote. "This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. "I will not be driving for Alpine next year." Earlier the statement from Alpine said: "BWT Alpine F1 Team confirms 21-year-old reserve driver Oscar Piastri as Esteban Ocon’s teammate starting from 2023. In line with the commitments made by the team to the young Australian, Oscar will be promoted to race driver and step in Fernando Alonso’s seat from next year onwards." While Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer added: “Oscar is a bright and rare talent. We are proud to have nurtured and supported him through the difficult pathways of the junior formulae. "Through our collaboration over the past four years, we have seen him develop and mature into a driver who is more than capable of taking the step up to Formula 1. "As our reserve driver he has been exposed to the team at the track, factory and testing where he has shown the maturity, promise and speed to ensure his promotion to our second seat alongside Esteban. Together, we believe the duo will give us the continuity we need to achieve our long-term goal of challenging for wins and championships.” via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[f1]

Herta tipped for Alpine test in latest twist to Red Bull saga | 2022 Italian Grand Prix

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free Colton Herta is expected to take part in his second Formula 1 test later this year as Red Bull continue their efforts to place the IndyCar driver at their junior team in 2023. However Herta’s next F1 run is not expected to involve Red Bull, AlphaTauri or McLaren – who signed him as a test driver in March and ran him at Autodromo do Algarve in Portugal this July in a private test. Herta is being lined up for a test at Alpine, potentially ahead of the next race at Singapore in two weeks’ time. Alpine is believed to be interested in the services of Pierre Gasly, who AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost indicated last week could be released from his 2023 contract to make way for Herta. “It is a decision from Red Bull which driver they will bring into the team,” said Tost. “But I think if it’s not Colton Herta, then Pierre Gasly will stay and nothing will change.” However that depends on Herta, who does not currently have enough FIA superlicence points to race in F1 despite his seven IndyCar race victories over the past four seasons, being allowed to compete in the series. “It’s a decision from the FIA whether he gets the superlicence or not, and I hope that FIA will take this decision as soon as possible so that we know how to build up the team and where to go for next year,” said Tost. Several rival teams remain opposed to any kind of rules break to allow Herta to race in F1. Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said it would undermine the investment they have made in placing their junior drivers in series which the FIA values more highly than IndyCar. “We are investing a lot in our Ferrari Driver Academy and continue to do so,” he said. “I think force majeure cannot be used for Herta. That will be a completely wrong approach. “Regulations are in place in order to protect our sports and make sure that we’re making the right process and choices for our sport itself. So Herta may participate in the championship, [when] he’s got what are the requirements to do so and not differently. “I think that’s very important and we will certainly over-view what the FIA will do in that respect. And I think each single team will do so because it’s for the importance of our sport. We cannot have force majeure or whatever are the situations, which is not a force majeure, certainly in that case.” Herta fell to 10th in the IndyCar series this year, his lowest position since entering the championship full-time in 2019. He peaked at third in 2020. Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free 2022 Italian Grand Prix Browse all 2022 Italian Grand Prix articles via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net

[f1]

Alex Albon Signs Multiyear Williams Contract Jokes About Oscar Piastri-Alpine Drama

Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images Formula One driver Alex Albon had some fun with the announcement that he signed a contract with Williams Racing and will be behind the wheel for the team in 2023. Oscar Piastri seemed to appreciate the humor: That Piastri responded was notable because he has been in the middle of some drama with BWT Alpine. Alpine F1 announced its 2023 driver lineup would be Piastri and Esteban Ocon, with the former replacing Aston Martin-bound Fernando Alonso. However, Piastri responded with the following message: "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." Albon used similar wording in his announcement in a clear tongue-in-cheek moment. Piastri is the reigning Formula 2 champion and seemed set to be an important part of Alpine's future in the coming years. However, Nate Saunders of ESPN reported the 21-year-old signed a pre-contract deal with McLaren, which just so happens to be battling Alpine for fourth place in this year's constructors' championship. It is another blow for Alpine considering Alonso's departure comes as something of a surprise. He will replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin in a move Saunders said "blindsided" Alpine because he previously told the team he planned to drive for it in 2023 with an option for 2024. Yet "Alpine's desire to keep Alonso for at least one more contract is what convinced Piastri and his manager, ex-Red Bull driver Mark Webber, to explore other options," per Saunders. McLaren will still feature Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo next season, although Piastri could be a long-term replacement for the latter, who is under contract until the end of 2023. As for Albon, he is in 19th place in this year's driver standings with three points. The 26-year-old earned one point at the Australian Grand Prix and two points at the Miami Grand Prix. via Bleacher Report - Formula 1 https://bleacherreport.com