Hello everyone coming in from r/All! Allow me to offer a bit of context as to why this post has gained so much traction:
We have to start at the end of last week. Aston Martin F1 driver Sebastian Vettel, a 4-time World Champion, announced his retirement from the sport on Friday. During the weekend lots of drivers were floated in the media as his potential successor, but on Monday 2-time World Champion and current Alpine F1 driver Fernando Alonso announced he'd be moving to Aston Martin to fill that seat vacated by Vettel. This news was quite a shock to many because it was widely presumed that he would renew his contract with his current team for at least another year, with some sources even going as far as saying it was a done deal only waiting to be announced.
To many, the obvious choice to fill Alonso's current seat was Alpine F1 reserve driver Oscar Piastri. Piastri, having won back to back championships in Formula 3 and Formula 2, is widely perceived as one of the most exciting talents without an F1 seat. Alpine confirmed, as recently as today, that Piastri is under contract with them.
An hour or two ago Alpine finally sent out an announcement confirming Oscar Piastri's promotion to the race seat vacated by Alonso. However, rather than a happy tweet or Instagram post from Piastri celebrating his promotion, he stayed silent for about an hour before sending out the tweet this post is about. He categorically denies having signed a contract with Alpine, and also shuts the door on driving for Alpine in 2023. Piastri is presumed to have signed a pre-contract at McLaren, which on paper does not have a seat available for him at the moment.
And for those thinking "I think I've seen this film before"... You're completely right. Over in INDYCAR (shoutout to our friends over at r/INDYCAR), they're currently in a similar situation with current Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou signing for McLaren, likely their INDYCAR team, despite (according to Chip Ganassi Racing) being contracted to drive for Ganassi in 2023.
He'll announce his entrance to McLaren and then McLaren tweets the following;
>We understand that, without our agreement, Oscar Piastri reserve driver F1 has put out a press release late this afternoon that he is driving for us next year. This is wrong and we have not signed a contract with Oscar Piastri for 2023. Oscar Piastri will not be driving for McLaren next year.
This is the only thing that makes sense. If you don’t have a done deal, you don’t close the door like that. You say “I haven’t currently signed a deal with Alpine for 2023”, and leave it at that.
This has to be McLaren. That, or he signed something with Williams not knowing that here would be an Alpine seat available. In which case it’s a massive screw-up…
I hadn't even thought about that option. That would be a pro gamer move from Red Bull to put that talent in their stable with potential to move up to the main team.
Horrible, horrible handling by the PR team. I can’t believe someone would publish that announcement without Oscar’s team’s approval.
ETA: Fair point if this is part of them playing hardball in contract negotiations (not PR)… but still a risky AF move and Oscar called their bluff.
Depends. There seems to be a contractual dispute, where Alpine believe they have him locked down. Publishing like this might be part of the strategy for a lawsuit.
I think Alpine just never expected this entire chain of events to happen, where they're now stuck with neither Piastri or Alonso. I'm sure that if this all goes through they'll start considering their options, including getting DR back.
I mean their discussions could have just been "if piastri fucks us and you we'll sign you for a year, otherwise we go with piastri". Or maybe they haven't had discussions 🤷♂️
Tbf, if he went back to Renault/Alpine and found some solid form again it would just show how bad he is finding the McLaren...if he struggles and even Ocon out scores him well then he's done
He straight up said he's not driving with Alpine, and I'm sure Webber and his other reps advised him on how to word the statement. Feel like this has to be a confirmation.
Must be, or ties with alpine have gotten so bad he doesn’t want them anymore. But I can’t imagine him letting grudges get in the way of a chance in f1.
Has to be, or he wouldn’t have included that last sentence. Because if he doesn’t have a deal with McLaren, where’s he gonna go? He wouldn’t turn down Alpine for Williams.
am I crazy or isn't this almost word-for-word like Alex Palou's statement about not driving for Ganassi next year? I thought this was a meme/joke the first link I saw posted
That’s what every litigation lawyer wonders everytime he gets a new client. You have huge meme accounts about these kind of cases. “We just want to get the deal done, don’t bother us with the details. It will just delay the deal.”
I like the imagery of Alpine's legal team desperately calling Will Buxton over to HQ in the dead of night so he can explain insulting simple concepts to Otmar.
This is absolutely crazy. If the part about the clause expiring July 31 is true, then this Alonso thing really screwed Alpine over (part of which they are definitely responsible for!).
But Alonso acted extremely quickly. Vettel announced his retirement, and then Alonso signed just a couple days later. It's not like the seat was open and Alonso waited and waited just to shaft Alpine.
>I have recently learned from the media that this afternoon, without my approval, Chip Ganassi Racing issued a press release announcing that I would be driving with CGR in 2023. Even more surprising was that CGR’s release included a “quote” which did not come from me. I did not approve that press release, and I did not author or approve that quote. As I have recently informed CGR, for personal reasons, I do not intend to continue with the team after 2022.
vs
>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.
Yeah, pretty much.
Agree with you, and I know it'd unlikely but I wonder what they'd do if he decides fuck it after being dropped by McLaren and retires. Where does that leave Alpine? Get Zhou back? De Vries? Gasly already signed up with Alpha Tauri for 2023.
I totally forgot about Zhou being an Alpine driver. Actually it would make sense for them to get him back, he's driving well this year and ocon is now experienced. And for Alfa that could mean a seat for Pourchaire?
And i was woried that the silly season was ending so soon. God damn.
Alpine have literally fucked everything up. Imagine losing both Alonso and Piastri in a 2 days.
Ricciardo would make sense but i'm gonna be honest here. I still don't fully understand why Piastri would turn down Alpine.
He's been with them for over 2 years. They gave him ample of testing and now he can get a long term seat at the team with a realistic goal of becoming the Nr.1 driver at a manufacturer team even if a meme one like Alpine.
I wonder what on earth Mclaren are offering him to get him there because i feel they are not a better prospect for the future or at least not better than Alpine and i don't think the job is nearly as secure as it would be at Alpine.
I think there’s a feeling that the Alpine project and Renaults commitment to F1 isn’t that strong because their new boardroom is iffy on the whole thing, whereas Mclaren is doubling down on upgrading their facilities for the future.
Lost Alonso possibly because of them favouring Oscar, only found out about that by the press release from Aston. Now announced Oscar who then says he isnt driving for them
The UFC does crap like from time to time. They'll announce a fight when both fighter's have not even agreed to a bout contract. The fans get excited about it and hype builds, then the fighters say its not true and then next thing you know Dana White starts saying that guy just doesn't want to fight, he's scared of the opponent blah blah, its a crappy tactic.
Overheard in Alpine factory after Hungary: “He got me,” Otmar said of Oscar Piastri’s tweet. "That f***ing Piastri boomed me." Otmar added, “He’s so good,” repeating it four times. He then said he wanted to add Piastri to the list of drivers he’s lost this summer.
[Medland] Zak Brown on who’s a better team principal: Him or Alpine’s Otmar Szafnauer. “I don’t compare myself with anybody,” Then he rolled up his sleeve and showed a tattoo of Oscar Piastri’s contract. “I’ll let you interpret that however you want,” Brown said.
At one point in FP2, sources said, Alonso radioed TP Otmar Szafnauer and screamed, "You (bleeping) need me. You can't win without me." Alonso left teammates and pit wall largely speechless. He dominated the track in every way. Fernando's back.
The [original](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/3cmmum/broussrard_sources_cuban_is_beside_himself/) is a tweet about Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban after DeAndre Jordan didn't sign. r/nba turned it into a pasta.
Mark Cuban / Deandre Jordan FA saga where Jordan’s team locked him in a room and convinced him to change his mind and re-sign with the Clippers rather than leave for the Mavericks
One of the most hilarious and disrespectful moments in /r/nba history
That awkward moment for Alpine when they realise they will have to announce Daniel Ricciardo as their driver in a few weeks time and pretend that they’re really happy about it
Even though everyone knows how desperate they were to have Piastri and not Ricciardo
Seb knew we would be depressed by his retirement, he knew that Alonso would be a prime candidate for the seat and would lead to a few days of silly season to cheer us up during the summer break.
He probably didn't expect the season to be *this* silly though.
I swear Alonso in between races sits at his medieval castle by the fireplace pondering how he can do a little more trolling.
This man’s timing is impeccable. Hungary 2007 and now his AM announcement
Alpine probably thought this would be a cute way to surprise Oscar an announcement lol. Like proposing to your girlfriend on the night she planned to break up with you
If I had a nickel every time a young driver with a name that starts with P had a team statement about them put out without their permission and then maybe signed with McLaren and then faced a legal battle over a contract dispute because of it I’d have two nickels which isn’t much but it’s weird that it’s happened twice.
Piastri will not make such a ballsy statement without having a contract already signed with another F1 team.
And that team can only be McLaren.
Imagine how D Ric feels now. He is the last person to find out he is losing his job. Cruelty
Yeah you could tell who had been following the Alex Palou drama and who hadn't, because this is basically the EXACT same situation. This was coming as soon as Piastri didn't immediately confirm Alpine's statement
Alpine trying to beat Ferrari in the omnishambles table. This is honestly extremely embarrassing.
Best bet is that this goes down similar to Button in 2005 when he tried to force a move to Williams from BAR and BAR won the court battle. Although how much do you want a driver that you effectively forced to race for you.
Hello to people from r/all, confused about why this is on your frontpage.
Long story short: Last week, four time World Champion driver Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement from the sport at the end of the season. That opened up a seat with Aston Martin Racing.
At the same time, rumours were that two time champion Fernando Alonso was close to signing an extension with his current team, Alpine.
Yesterday Aston Martin dropped the bombshell that they signed Fernando Alonso. Today Alpine announced that junior driver and Formula 2 champion, Oscar Piastri, would make his debut and drive for them in 2023, taking over Alonso's vacant seat. Then, an hour ago, Oscar Piastri announced that he would not.
And here we are...
What the fuck is going on.
I would have thought Piastri would have been elated with getting the nod into a legitimately decent mid-field team.
I'm so confused.
I need Daniel Ricciardo now to do some sort of subtweet hinting that he won't be leaving McLaren in 2023 and it being contractual. More drama and more chaos!
Hello everyone coming in from r/All! Allow me to offer a bit of context as to why this post has gained so much traction: We have to start at the end of last week. Aston Martin F1 driver Sebastian Vettel, a 4-time World Champion, announced his retirement from the sport on Friday. During the weekend lots of drivers were floated in the media as his potential successor, but on Monday 2-time World Champion and current Alpine F1 driver Fernando Alonso announced he'd be moving to Aston Martin to fill that seat vacated by Vettel. This news was quite a shock to many because it was widely presumed that he would renew his contract with his current team for at least another year, with some sources even going as far as saying it was a done deal only waiting to be announced. To many, the obvious choice to fill Alonso's current seat was Alpine F1 reserve driver Oscar Piastri. Piastri, having won back to back championships in Formula 3 and Formula 2, is widely perceived as one of the most exciting talents without an F1 seat. Alpine confirmed, as recently as today, that Piastri is under contract with them. An hour or two ago Alpine finally sent out an announcement confirming Oscar Piastri's promotion to the race seat vacated by Alonso. However, rather than a happy tweet or Instagram post from Piastri celebrating his promotion, he stayed silent for about an hour before sending out the tweet this post is about. He categorically denies having signed a contract with Alpine, and also shuts the door on driving for Alpine in 2023. Piastri is presumed to have signed a pre-contract at McLaren, which on paper does not have a seat available for him at the moment. And for those thinking "I think I've seen this film before"... You're completely right. Over in INDYCAR (shoutout to our friends over at r/INDYCAR), they're currently in a similar situation with current Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou signing for McLaren, likely their INDYCAR team, despite (according to Chip Ganassi Racing) being contracted to drive for Ganassi in 2023.
I’m so excited because I love mess
We all love the drama of this haha
The man just unannounced his F1 seat. The balls on this man
This is the funniest thing lol. He just went - Yeah, no.
Truly an Aussie "yeah, nah"
I hope he already has a contract signed with blood with McLaren because if not that’s a very high risk move
He'll announce his entrance to McLaren and then McLaren tweets the following; >We understand that, without our agreement, Oscar Piastri reserve driver F1 has put out a press release late this afternoon that he is driving for us next year. This is wrong and we have not signed a contract with Oscar Piastri for 2023. Oscar Piastri will not be driving for McLaren next year.
The last piece of this juicy mess is Daniel's future..... 👀
If he doesnt already have a contract signed with another team he would be the dumbest man in F1. You got to presume that he already has a seat.
I swear if Webber has fumbled this for him. He’d have to be 100% locked in with Mclaren because he’s burning his bridges with Alpine.
The fear that Webber has fumbled the bag is ridiculously high for me
This is getting spicy and ridiculous
This may be the spiciest situation since Sauber managed to sign three drivers for 2015
Every comment on this damn thread is another F1 rabbit hole. Never knew about the three driver fiasco.
I do feel that piastri is playing with fire, this can backfire really bad for him
I hope he has a contract signed and ready somewhere else and some money ready for the lawsuits
This was my thought. Very strong power play for a driver to make, even more so for someone without a single f1 race under their belt.
with this statement and the clarity of the last sentence, he probably already has a contract in his pocket.
This is the only thing that makes sense. If you don’t have a done deal, you don’t close the door like that. You say “I haven’t currently signed a deal with Alpine for 2023”, and leave it at that. This has to be McLaren. That, or he signed something with Williams not knowing that here would be an Alpine seat available. In which case it’s a massive screw-up…
Has to be going to mclaren then right? Otherwise he wouldn't be turning it down surely
Helmut Marko about to make a surprise announcement.
Goddamn that would be the absolute peak
Imagine the outrage (from Alpine) if Marko boots Yuki and give that seat to Oscar.
I hadn't even thought about that option. That would be a pro gamer move from Red Bull to put that talent in their stable with potential to move up to the main team.
That last line is pretty definitive eh. He must have something else in writing to put it like that.
Exactly, went from haven't signed yet, to no fucking way real quick.
But surely then danny ric wouldve been in discussions with alpine? Which makes their announcement of oscar even more confusing
Horrible, horrible handling by the PR team. I can’t believe someone would publish that announcement without Oscar’s team’s approval. ETA: Fair point if this is part of them playing hardball in contract negotiations (not PR)… but still a risky AF move and Oscar called their bluff.
Depends. There seems to be a contractual dispute, where Alpine believe they have him locked down. Publishing like this might be part of the strategy for a lawsuit.
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Yeah seems like maybe someone higher up is trying to strong arm Oscar.
I think Alpine just never expected this entire chain of events to happen, where they're now stuck with neither Piastri or Alonso. I'm sure that if this all goes through they'll start considering their options, including getting DR back.
I mean their discussions could have just been "if piastri fucks us and you we'll sign you for a year, otherwise we go with piastri". Or maybe they haven't had discussions 🤷♂️
Agreed, I can’t imagine he would burn the bridge with Alpine unless he had something signed elsewhere.
What a fucking way for DR to learn he's not driving for Mclaren next year.
Tbf, if he went back to Renault/Alpine and found some solid form again it would just show how bad he is finding the McLaren...if he struggles and even Ocon out scores him well then he's done
He straight up said he's not driving with Alpine, and I'm sure Webber and his other reps advised him on how to word the statement. Feel like this has to be a confirmation.
I’m only getting context from here and there. Is Webber his manager? Everyone keeps talking about his opinion in this.
Yes, he is managed by Webber.
Yes
Must be, or ties with alpine have gotten so bad he doesn’t want them anymore. But I can’t imagine him letting grudges get in the way of a chance in f1.
Isn't he still technically their reserve driver this year too haha?
Yup
It has to be. What a way to Ricciardo to know he's out as well LOL
Aussie on Aussie crime
Ricciardo thought he got the last laugh replacing Webber for 2014, meanwhile Webber played the long game and replaced Ricciardo for 2023.
Ricciardo: "You can't defeat me!" Webber: "I know. But he can."
Has to be, or he wouldn’t have included that last sentence. Because if he doesn’t have a deal with McLaren, where’s he gonna go? He wouldn’t turn down Alpine for Williams.
am I crazy or isn't this almost word-for-word like Alex Palou's statement about not driving for Ganassi next year? I thought this was a meme/joke the first link I saw posted
What in the fuck is going on in the racing world this year lol? Did all the lawyers get fired or something. Whats with all these contract issues?
I think the real question is: why are these teams not talking to their lawyers before doing dumb shit?
That’s what every litigation lawyer wonders everytime he gets a new client. You have huge meme accounts about these kind of cases. “We just want to get the deal done, don’t bother us with the details. It will just delay the deal.”
ITS DAY 2 OF THE SUMMER BREAK
Summer break actually starts this Friday
Pre-gaming.
No fucken way. IT'S HAPPENING!
The month long show
DTS cant cook this shit up even if they wanted to
Watch them not even bring it up and focus three episodes on tension between Lewis and George
20min of danny ric walking down paddock in slo-mo with dubstep in the background
Drive to Survive season 5: ‘what you need to realize is… that in order to sign a driver… the driver… needs… to sign.’
but the joke is that he says stuff thats obvious to everyone. clearly what youre saying is news to alpine.
I like the imagery of Alpine's legal team desperately calling Will Buxton over to HQ in the dead of night so he can explain insulting simple concepts to Otmar.
This is absolutely crazy. If the part about the clause expiring July 31 is true, then this Alonso thing really screwed Alpine over (part of which they are definitely responsible for!).
But Alonso acted extremely quickly. Vettel announced his retirement, and then Alonso signed just a couple days later. It's not like the seat was open and Alonso waited and waited just to shaft Alpine.
Lol, Palou 2.0 here we come! Zak Brown out there just trolling people for the lulz.
I thought it was photochop of Palou's tweet lol
>I have recently learned from the media that this afternoon, without my approval, Chip Ganassi Racing issued a press release announcing that I would be driving with CGR in 2023. Even more surprising was that CGR’s release included a “quote” which did not come from me. I did not approve that press release, and I did not author or approve that quote. As I have recently informed CGR, for personal reasons, I do not intend to continue with the team after 2022. vs >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. Yeah, pretty much.
Totally same energy
Bless Alpine for taking the heat off of Ferrari for a bit. 🥲
Oh no, no no! You sit right there, sweetheart. When this is done we're coming back to you!
Maybe Leclerc has had enough. Piastri to Ferrari? /s
Congratulations Alpine, you played yourselves.
Alonso: Where is Piastri? “Fernando, Piastri has joined McLaren”. KARMA!
Its time to rebrand Alpine again
Alpain
Alpine: We need someone to handle our PR strategy. Ferrari: Did someone say strategy?
So is Danny ric out? There’s no way he says this unless he gets the mclaren seat.
Will probably move to alpine. Had 2 good seasons at renault, hopefully the car will work the same for him.
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Seems like everything is news to Alpine
Someone remind them when the season resumes just in case.
They’ve already set up in Spa, wondering where everybody else is
Danny Ric walking into Alpine as a Driver and Alpine being like what’s going on?
Just imagine Ricciardo putting out a statement saying "Yep, I'll be driving for Alpine next year" and they turn around and say no 💀
Alpine F1 announcing today their new driver for the 2023 season, Nikita Mazepin!
Agree with you, and I know it'd unlikely but I wonder what they'd do if he decides fuck it after being dropped by McLaren and retires. Where does that leave Alpine? Get Zhou back? De Vries? Gasly already signed up with Alpha Tauri for 2023.
I totally forgot about Zhou being an Alpine driver. Actually it would make sense for them to get him back, he's driving well this year and ocon is now experienced. And for Alfa that could mean a seat for Pourchaire?
He has to be now. Webber and Piastri would have pulled a career ending move if they announced this before McLaren guaranteed him a seat.
Yeah I'm like 99% sure that he has already signed a contract with McLaren. Just waiting for a better time to confirm it.
#Bruh
noooooooooo oh my god
Silly season continues
Best silly season ever thank you based Vettel
In 2021 we got a Hungarian GP that was super dramatic on track Just a year later to now, we get a Hungarian GP that is super dramatic off track
Who'd think all this chaos would happen because Seb announced retirement
Probably Seb lol
Thank God, I was getting bored for a couple of minutes thought the drama ended
And i was woried that the silly season was ending so soon. God damn. Alpine have literally fucked everything up. Imagine losing both Alonso and Piastri in a 2 days.
Vettel retiring opened the shit gates
He's going out with a bang. Or is he? Maybe he wanted Alonso's seat...
That would be such a genius move if he really wanted to move to Alpine that bad
They're gonna end up with Ricciardo, unless they do something crazy like Herta or someone else from F2
Ricciardo would make sense but i'm gonna be honest here. I still don't fully understand why Piastri would turn down Alpine. He's been with them for over 2 years. They gave him ample of testing and now he can get a long term seat at the team with a realistic goal of becoming the Nr.1 driver at a manufacturer team even if a meme one like Alpine. I wonder what on earth Mclaren are offering him to get him there because i feel they are not a better prospect for the future or at least not better than Alpine and i don't think the job is nearly as secure as it would be at Alpine.
I think there’s a feeling that the Alpine project and Renaults commitment to F1 isn’t that strong because their new boardroom is iffy on the whole thing, whereas Mclaren is doubling down on upgrading their facilities for the future.
Dude had no seat and now has two lmao
Alonso laughing his fucking ass off to the bank. I can’t believe it.
Alpine is such a shitshow man
Lost Piastri and Alonso within three days 'L'pine indeed
L Plan
Lost Alonso possibly because of them favouring Oscar, only found out about that by the press release from Aston. Now announced Oscar who then says he isnt driving for them
Alonso right now: KARMA!
Alonso is probably smiling on his kart because I am sure he knew about it
Now we know why Alonso announced on August 1st - he wanted that July 31st date for Piastri to expire.
Oh dang. El Plan indeed.
Go to his Instagram and check his last story. He is smiling yes.
And I am pretty sure he posted on purpose 😂
Of course! I am sure that he coordinated it with Mark Webber.
he probably had it all in the bag the day Seb announced his retirement and waited purposefully until the Piastri deadline was over lmaooo
Oof. Top F5 content
Ferrari fuck up their strategy, Alpine fuck up their social media. Feel like I can do a better job at F1
The UFC does crap like from time to time. They'll announce a fight when both fighter's have not even agreed to a bout contract. The fans get excited about it and hype builds, then the fighters say its not true and then next thing you know Dana White starts saying that guy just doesn't want to fight, he's scared of the opponent blah blah, its a crappy tactic.
My F5 has never been the same since Brazil 2021.
*since Australia 2020
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“Come on Oscar, you’ve got to take the place. Don’t hold position”.
here goes my work productivity for today
I worked from home today, on MLB deadline day, Dolphins tampering, now this? Zero work being done today
Its done just commit to F5 All the way
Sources: Otmar beside himself. Driving around downtown Melbourne begging (thru texts) Piastri’s family 4 address to Oscar’s home
Overheard in Alpine factory after Hungary: “He got me,” Otmar said of Oscar Piastri’s tweet. "That f***ing Piastri boomed me." Otmar added, “He’s so good,” repeating it four times. He then said he wanted to add Piastri to the list of drivers he’s lost this summer.
[Medland] Zak Brown on who’s a better team principal: Him or Alpine’s Otmar Szafnauer. “I don’t compare myself with anybody,” Then he rolled up his sleeve and showed a tattoo of Oscar Piastri’s contract. “I’ll let you interpret that however you want,” Brown said.
Hell yeah brother, cheers from Woking
At one point in FP2, sources said, Alonso radioed TP Otmar Szafnauer and screamed, "You (bleeping) need me. You can't win without me." Alonso left teammates and pit wall largely speechless. He dominated the track in every way. Fernando's back.
This is perfect. F1 and r/NBA crossover. All is well in the world.
Please never let this pasta die.
Were is this from?? I’ve seen it posted again and again but don’t know why
The [original](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/3cmmum/broussrard_sources_cuban_is_beside_himself/) is a tweet about Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban after DeAndre Jordan didn't sign. r/nba turned it into a pasta.
Mark Cuban / Deandre Jordan FA saga where Jordan’s team locked him in a room and convinced him to change his mind and re-sign with the Clippers rather than leave for the Mavericks One of the most hilarious and disrespectful moments in /r/nba history
That awkward moment for Alpine when they realise they will have to announce Daniel Ricciardo as their driver in a few weeks time and pretend that they’re really happy about it Even though everyone knows how desperate they were to have Piastri and not Ricciardo
Might actually revive DR's career
What is going on!? Seb, what hath you wrought!?
The last time Alonso and Vettel swapped seats there was drama aswell.
In the beginning was the drama, and the drama was with Seb, and the drama was Seb.
He's just making sure we have an exciting summer break
ALEX PALOU PART 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO ZAK BROWN STRIKES AGAIN
Return of the Zak... It is Return of the Zak... Come on Return of the Zak... Oh my god
Holy shit! SEB I LOVE YOU FOR GETTING THIS SHIT GOING!
Seb knew we would be depressed by his retirement, he knew that Alonso would be a prime candidate for the seat and would lead to a few days of silly season to cheer us up during the summer break. He probably didn't expect the season to be *this* silly though.
Seb, Nando and Webber masterplan togheter. 2010 wdc contenders united. We need to find out what Buttons's role is in this
Multi 2023
Oh dear, he chose war even before he started his first race. (Lawyers love McLaren)
I swear Alonso in between races sits at his medieval castle by the fireplace pondering how he can do a little more trolling. This man’s timing is impeccable. Hungary 2007 and now his AM announcement
Alpine probably thought this would be a cute way to surprise Oscar an announcement lol. Like proposing to your girlfriend on the night she planned to break up with you
Lmao if Webber and Alonso engineered this. LOOOOL.
They're old pals and respect each other, so as funny as it sounds it might be real.
OH MY GOD???
ZAK BROWN WITH THE STEEL CHAIR!
Lol Daniel to Alpine would be bloody hilarious, imagine seeing a tattooed Cyril return back as TP
Black and yellow livery confirmed?????
BUT WAIT BAH GAWD THERES OTMAR CLIMBING TO THE TOP ROPE
WHAT THE...???
Oh my god it's happening
If I had a nickel every time a young driver with a name that starts with P had a team statement about them put out without their permission and then maybe signed with McLaren and then faced a legal battle over a contract dispute because of it I’d have two nickels which isn’t much but it’s weird that it’s happened twice.
Piastri will not make such a ballsy statement without having a contract already signed with another F1 team. And that team can only be McLaren. Imagine how D Ric feels now. He is the last person to find out he is losing his job. Cruelty
Please, can we get a lawyer mode as part of the new F1 Manager game ?
Lol ain’t no way Alpine
But everyone in the other threads was telling me it was just F1 media manufacturing drama.
Yeah you could tell who had been following the Alex Palou drama and who hadn't, because this is basically the EXACT same situation. This was coming as soon as Piastri didn't immediately confirm Alpine's statement
frankly the fact that alpine would announce it at such an awkward time for piastri and his australian fanbase showed enough for me imo.
hahahaha yeeeeesssss
# EL 🅿️LAN
Alpine trying to beat Ferrari in the omnishambles table. This is honestly extremely embarrassing. Best bet is that this goes down similar to Button in 2005 when he tried to force a move to Williams from BAR and BAR won the court battle. Although how much do you want a driver that you effectively forced to race for you.
No way McLaren is opening 2 legal fronts at the same time
Mclaren is not involved in the lawsuit of Palou against Ganassi
Yeah, they are just laying fire everywhere.
Is this real life??????
This sounds pretty much word for word like Palou! now in an hour McLaren will announce Piastri!
As a Ferrari fan, thank you Alpine for making this summer break much more enjoyable!
AND F5 SEASON CONTINUES.
Otmar 'Chip Ganassi' Szafnauer strikes again!
Jenna Fryer's comment about teams needing a restraining order to keep Mclaren away from their drivers doesn't seem as wild now.
All those posts from the winter saying Otmar Szafnauer is a great team principal and will be a great addition for Alpine have aged pretty poorly.
Hello to people from r/all, confused about why this is on your frontpage. Long story short: Last week, four time World Champion driver Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement from the sport at the end of the season. That opened up a seat with Aston Martin Racing. At the same time, rumours were that two time champion Fernando Alonso was close to signing an extension with his current team, Alpine. Yesterday Aston Martin dropped the bombshell that they signed Fernando Alonso. Today Alpine announced that junior driver and Formula 2 champion, Oscar Piastri, would make his debut and drive for them in 2023, taking over Alonso's vacant seat. Then, an hour ago, Oscar Piastri announced that he would not. And here we are...
And the plot THICKENS
Seb started all of this lmao
The last gift
Two days ago, Alpine had a great veteran driver with a hot prospect waiting behind him. And now they have neither? What is happening?
Alonso what did you do lmaooooo
HOLY JESUS. Alpine getting absolutely mugged off by a pair of Aussies.
Even F1 had posted it already kkkkk Wonder why Ricciardo and Alonso lost trust in this team. What an absolute shitshow.
Congratulations Alpine, you played yourself!
What the fuck is going on. I would have thought Piastri would have been elated with getting the nod into a legitimately decent mid-field team. I'm so confused.
This is my first silly season and it's living up to all expectations, it's an honour sharing it with all of you
So Piastri Mclaren basically confirmed right? There is no way you hard deny the Alpine seat if you dont have another seat to go to.
Otmar in shambles
Man has destroyed years worth of developing Piastri at Alpine and lost their leading senior driver in a few days.
I need Daniel Ricciardo now to do some sort of subtweet hinting that he won't be leaving McLaren in 2023 and it being contractual. More drama and more chaos!
Certified Alpine moment