Piastri won't drive for Alpine in 2023 despite announcement

Formula One's game of musical chairs is in full swing.

After Fernando Alonso announced his departure to join Aston Martin in 2023, most people believed FIA Formula 2 Champion Oscar Piastri, who was the team's reserve driver, would be promoted to a race seat at Alpine.

Indeed, for a short while, Piastri did get announced as Esteban Ocon's teammate for next year – that is until Piastri himself dismissed the team's statement in a Twitter post.

Apparently, Alpine F1 team made the press release even though Piastri has not agreed to a contract for next year just yet, and even declared he won't be driving for the French team. So which team is he heading to next year, then?

Oscar Piastri's manager, ex-Formula One driver Mark Webber was reported to have been in talks with other teams, particularly McLaren for Piastri to take Daniel Ricciardo's seat. However, with Ricciardo still locked-in to a contact for next year, there could be a legal mess looming for both McLaren and Alpine should these disputes continue.

Alpine has outlined its position, and so did Piastri. Both parties believe they are contractually in the right as Alpine heavily invested in Piastri's junior career. But on the other hand, if a company put out a press release saying you're with them without any discussion, or even a contract, Piastri has all the right to disagree. This debacle could go either way, but we all know stranger things have happened in Formula One before.

With these shock announcements coming left and right, Formula One's mid-season break is just as interesting as the races. This is going to get messy.