Oscar Piastri officially joins McLaren after Contract Recognition Board decision

Oscar Piastri sent shockwaves through the F1 paddock when he rejected a seat for 2023, now his future has officially been confirmed.

Piastri’s future has been decided. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Oscar Piastri’s future has been decided.

The Aussie ace will join McLaren in 2023 alongside Lando Norris after the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board handed down their judgement following a meeting on Monday.

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The F1’s silly season went into overdrive when reports emerged fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo was to be replaced at McLaren by the rising star.

It all started when two-time world champion Fernando Alonso blindsided Alpine by announcing he was joining Aston Martin in 2023 in the seat vacated by Sebastian Vettel.

Alpine then announced Piastri would be the man to replace Alonso, only for the 21-year-old Melburnian to reject the seat — a bold move for someone who is yet to drive in F1.

The French team threatened to file a civil lawsuit to recoup the millions of dollars in training it has spent on Piastri this season.

“Going to the High Court is over 90 per cent certain that’s what we’ll do,” Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer told Reuters.

“If the CRB (Contract Recognition Board) says, ‘Your licence is only valid at Alpine’, and then he (Piastri) says, ‘That’s great, but I’m never driving for them, I’ll just sit out a year’, then you’ve got to go to the High Court for compensation.”

Piastri had valid contracts with both Alpine and McLaren for 2023, according to French publication Auto Hebdo, but the CRB stated it was McLaren who held the upper hand.

McLaren officially announced the signing of Piastri immediately after the board’s decision became public.

“I’m extremely excited to be making my F1 debut with such a prestigious team as McLaren and I’m very grateful for the opportunity that’s been offered to me. The team has a long tradition of giving young talent a chance, and I’m looking forward to working hard alongside Lando to push the team towards the front of the grid. I’m focused on preparing for my F1 debut in 2023 and starting my F1 career in papaya,” Piastri said.

Ricciardo is out at McLaren. (Photo by Geert Vanden Wijngaert / POOL / AFP)

Piastri’s saga isn’t over yet. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

“Oscar is one of the up-and-coming talents coming through the feeder series into F1 and we are delighted to see him join the team for 2023. Winning both F3 and F2 in successive rookie seasons is a real achievement and testament to his talent in single-seater racing. In Lando and Oscar we have a young, exciting F1 line-up with a huge amount of potential, standing us in good stead to achieve our future ambitions. Oscar is an exciting addition to the McLaren family, and we look forward to seeing him grow with our F1 team,” Zak Brown said.

We have signed 2021 F2 champion @OscarPiastri.

Oscar joins Lando to form our exciting F1 driver line-up from 2023. 👊

Full story. ⬇️

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) September 2, 2022

Ricciardo’s future at McLaren was cut short by a year after the team opted to sign Piastri, leaving the smiling West Australian out in the cold.

His future on the grid remains up in the air after it was officially announced he would be departing the Woking based outfit at season’s end.

The door is said to be open at Alpine, to take the vacated seat by Alonso which would have been filled by Piastri.

Alfa Romeo, Haas and Williams have seats available in 2023, and it’s fair to assume each of them would be eager to sign a driver of Ricciardo’s calibre.

Haas team principle Guenther Steiner, who has become a cult hero for his antics on Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive, reportedly contacted Ricciardo before the mid-season break.

Denmark’s Kevin Magnussen is contracted with Haas on a multi-year deal, but young prodigy Mick Schumacher’s current contract expires at the end of 2022.