Fernando Alonso mocks Alpine amid Oscar Piastri dispute

Fernando Alonso started a chaotic series of events by signing for Aston Martin after Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement.

Alpine’s Fernando Alonso is loving the drama he has kickstarted in Formula 1, evidenced by the great time he is having in Spain at the moment.

In bombshell news on Monday morning, Aston Martin announced that they had signed the Spaniard from Alpine to replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel, but the 41-year-old had told Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer that he was not going anywhere.

The Romanian-American affirmed that the double world champion had told him “no” when he asked if he had signed for anyone else for next year – being that his current contract expires at the end of this season.

Therefore, Szafnauer only discovered through his former team’s press release that the Spaniard had signed with them.

READ: Fernando Alonso warned against moving to Aston Martin after announcing 2023 contract

Szafnauer was also under the impression that Alonso was on a boat in the Greek Islands, but he posted a picture of himself karting at his museum in Oviedo on his Instagram story, before posting a video of himself walking around his home town.

Some might say the smile on his face was an indication of his complete awareness that he has started absolute chaos in the Formula 1 world, because Alpine, since the announcement of Alonso’s departure, have been involved in more drama.

They announced that their reserve driver, Oscar Piastri, would be racing for them in 2023, but Piastri took to Twitter to confirm that they had done so without his consent, stating that he will not be driving for Alpine next year.

This might suggest that his manager, former F1 driver Mark Webber, has got him a deal at McLaren amid continued speculation there.

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This would further confuse the Woking-based team’s programme, because they are planning to add Alex Palou to their roster next season as well.

Palou is currently involved in a legal dispute with Chip Ganassi over joining McLaren’s IndyCar team next year, and that deal would involve him receiving time in an F1 car, as well as an opportunity to compete in the pinnacle of motorsport.

The Spaniard had stated that this is his intention, but Daniel Ricciardo has a contract until the end of next season, while CEO Zak Brown is also scouting Andretti racer Colton Herta.

READ: Young Australian driver tipped to join McLaren, not Alpine

Both Herta and McLaren’s current IndyCar driver – Patricio O’Ward – have tested the F1 car in the last year, so add in Piastri, and the British side would be in danger of having more drivers than they know what to do with.

Alpine appear to believe that they have a contractual agreement with Piastri for him to race with them next season, so this will be a busy summer for F1.