‘Didn’t even ask’: Oscar Piastri ‘bullying’ drama erupts as McLaren chief goes on the offensive

Oscar Piastri’s F1 team have sensationally claimed the young Aussie was ‘bullied’ when he was signed to rival team Alpine.

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown has sensationally claimed Oscar Piastri’s former team Alpine bullied the Aussie phenom during the rival F1 team’s contract stoush in 2022.

Three years ago Piastri’s contract saga sent shockwaves through the F1 in what was somewhat of a sliding-doors moment for the 24-year-old. And his exit was messy, to say the least.

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In 2022, the retirement of legendary driver Sebastian Vettel caused a frenzy on the F1 grid, with Fernando Alonso penning a deal with Aston Martin.

The day after Alonso’s departure, Alpine revealed academy driver Piastri would replace him in the main team, joining France’s Esteban Ocon the following season.

However, Piastri rocked the F1 world by tweeting later that day: “I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 has released 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 agreed to join McLaren and that ignited a bitter contract battle between Alpine and

McLaren in front of the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board.

Oscar Piastri joined McLaren ahead of the 2023 season. (Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

Both teams argued they had signed the promising young driver, but in the end, the Contract Recognition Board ruled in McLaren’s favour, and Alpine was ordered to pay the rival team’s legal fees.

While Piastri went from a team that appeared to be a sinking ship to one on the up.

Fast forward three years from the messy contract split and McLaren and Piastri are who the entire grid is gunning for, but it hasn’t stopped them from going on the offensive.

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown this week tore into Alpine, accusing them of bullying Piastri and trying to strongarm him into staying after then-team principal Otmar Szafnauer dropped the ball.

“He (Szafnauer) got caught with his pants down. He claims that when he arrived Oscar was not tied down in the way he should have been and that it had nothing to do with him,” Brown said in an interview with Mail Sport this week.

Oscar Piastri is top of the F1 drivers’ standings (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

“But when you come in you have to assess everything and fix it. Maybe he should have taken a look.

“Their press release saying Oscar would get the race seat in 2023 did not even contain a quote from him. They did not even ask him. They put the statement out as if it was a done deal. It was used to bully him into doing what they wanted.

“The CRB ordered them to pay our expenses, so that tells you what they made of the situation.”

Piastri is currently leading the F1 drivers’ standings in only his third season on the main grid, having won three consecutive races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Miami.

He’ll look to continue his dominant streak when the grid heads to Monza for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday, May 18.

Originally published as ‘Didn’t even ask’: Oscar Piastri ‘bullying’ drama erupts as McLaren chief goes on the offensive