DUBAI: Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer remains confident that Oscar Piastri will drive for his team next season when the matter is decided by a Formula One board.
Alpine is in dispute with its reserve driver Piastri, who said he doesn’t want promotion to the Alpine seat vacated by Fernando Alonso.
Piastri has been linked to the vacant McLaren slot for 2023. The matter will go before F1’s Contract Recognition Board (CRB) next week.
“What we’re doing to retain him is going to the CRB on Monday and we’ll have the CRB decide which contract that Oscar signed takes precedence. Once we have that ruling we’ll look forward and see how we go,” Szafnauer said Saturday. “I’ve seen both sides of the argument and we’re confident that Oscar signed with us back in November. There are certain things that need to be in the contract and I’m confident they are there.”
The domino effect started at the Hungarian Grand Prix in late July.
First, four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel announced he was retiring at the end of 2022, leaving his Aston Martin seat open. Then, the day after that race, Alonso stunned Alpine by announcing he was joining Aston Martin next year.
Alpine had offered the 41-year-old Alonso a one-year deal with an option for another year, but he accepted Aston Martin’s longer offer.
Then, Alpine said late the next day it was promoting Piastri into Alonso’s seat only for the 21-year-old Piastri to flatly refuse it on Twitter.
“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,” Piastri tweeted at the time. “This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.”
That’s not how Szafnauer sees it.
“His promise to us was to race with us if we put him in our car, so that’s what we’re pursuing,” Szafnauer said. “Going to the CRB is the logical next step when you believe you have a valid contract with the driver and he signed something else.”
If Piastri wins, though, Alpine will need to replace him: possibly with Daniel Ricciardo, who is splitting with McLaren at the end of this year.
But Szafnauer believes history could be on his side.
“This has happened in the past. I just happened to be there when it happened to Jenson Button, when he signed for Williams but BAR Honda rightfully took up their option on Jenson,” he said. “Jenson really wanted to go to Williams, BAR Honda won at the CRB and then had a great relationship with Jenson culminating in a world championship (in 2009).”
Szafnauer said Piastri — whose contract is through 2024 with an option at the end of ‘23 — seemed happy when he was told he’d replace Alsonso.
““He happened to be in the simulator and I went and found him and he smiled and was thankful,” Szafnauer said. “So we made the (press) release really quickly.”
Alonso was a free agent when the move happened, meaning the two-time F1 champion was free to talk with Aston Martin and other teams.
“There was paddock rumor on Sunday that it could happen, so not that big of a surprise. The surprising bit was that we went a long way with Fernando in our negotiations with him,” Szafnauer said. “We got to the final hurdle and Fernando indicated that he was ready to sign. The only surprising bit was that it was announced Monday morning, when Sunday night he indicated there was no need to rush.”
Although Szafnauer insists he does not feel let down by Alonso, he had thought he would stay.
“When I left Fernando on Sunday, he told me ‘Look, don’t worry we’ve got time. I’m going to be on my boat in Greece over the holiday.’ He invited me for a coffee. He said, ‘If you’re in Greece come to my boat,’” Szafnauer said. “We put in front of him a contract we’d be happy with ... Although he wanted a longer deal, he intimated to me that 1+1 was fine.”
McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl, who sat alongside Szafnauer at a news conference on Saturday, remains tight-lipped about who will replace Ricciardo.
“I don’t want to comment on any driver names or scenarios,” he said. “It’s something we will address from next week onwards.”
Seidl’s relationship with Ricciardo remains strong enough for them to share beer and a dinner, he said, adding that he felt sad for the Australian driver. Ricciardo won the Italian GP last September for his eighth F1 win but has largely been outperformed by Lando Norris this season and last.
“It wasn’t a secret that despite all the effort on Daniel’s side and our side, despite the huge commitment levels on both sides, we simply didn’t manage to achieve the results we all had in mind,” Seidl said. “It didn’t change anything in terms of the respect for Daniel, in terms of (the) driver he is. But at the same time it was important to have clarity now making our plans for next year.”
Alpine boss Szafnauer confident he’ll win F1 Piastri ruling
https://arab.news/8mwx6
Alpine boss Szafnauer confident he’ll win F1 Piastri ruling
- Alpine is in dispute with its reserve driver Piastri, who said he doesn't want promotion to the Alpine seat vacated by Fernando Alonso
- The matter will go before F1's Contract Recognition Board (CRB) next week
Rocky 2025 for Green Falcons leaves Saudi fans anxious ahead of 2026 World Cup
- Herve Renard’s team secured a seventh qualification for the Kingdom, but the year ended in disappointment after the semifinal exit at the Arab Cup
RIYADH: Just over three years ago, the Saudi men’s national team did the unthinkable, defeating eventual world champions Argentina in their opening match at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
As the 2026 World Cup approaches, with just under six months until the Green Falcons kick off against Uruguay, the contrast in sentiment surrounding the national team could hardly be starker.
The road since 2022 has been anything but smooth. While Herve Renard was head coach during Saudi Arabia’s memorable 2022 campaign, this is now his second tenure in the Kingdom. A brief spell under Roberto Mancini, one many Saudi fans would rather forget, saw progress stall on the road to 2026.
Despite significant excitement surrounding Renard’s in October 2024, the second chapter so far has failed to inspire.
A draw against Australia and a loss to Indonesia marked the beginning of Renard’s return, followed by an underwhelming campaign at the 26th Gulf Cup. Saudi Arabia did make it through to the semifinals, but for a nation that has not lifted a trophy since early 2004, supporters were desperate for silverware, even at the regional level.
There were signs of improvement at the start of 2025. Wins against China and Bahrain, alongside a draw in Japan, left the Greens one victory away from direct World Cup qualification — albeit requiring a favorable swing in goal difference after Australia’s last-minute win over Japan.
However, defeat to Australia, followed by another disappointing campaign, this time at the 2025 Gold Cup in the US, saw fans’ pessimism creep back in ahead of the fourth round of World Cup qualification.
A narrow win over Indonesia, coupled with a draw against Iraq, meant Saudi Arabia ultimately secured World Cup qualification for the seventh time. With the 2025 Arab Cup on the horizon, the Greens found themselves at a crossroads: Win the Arab Cup, and momentum heading into 2026 would be sky-high. Lose, and uncomfortable questions would resurface.
Saudi Arabia did reach the knockout stages, but once again, doubts remained. Renard’s trip to the US for the World Cup draw meant he missed out on the Comoros group stage clash, and that did little to ease concerns. Still, the Greens were three matches away from their first title in 21 years.
Palestine proved stern opposition in the quarterfinals, but Mohammed Kanno’s late intervention sent Saudi Arabia through to face Jordan, the 2023 Asian Cup finalists.
Jordan’s rise has increasingly unsettled the Saudi fanbase. Between 1970 and 2018, Saudi Arabia had lost to their neighbors just three times in 11 meetings. That has all changed since 2019, with Jordan triumphing in three of their last four outings against the Greens.
They would ultimately make it four from five, as a solitary second-half goal was enough to launch Jordan to their first-ever final, and disappointment once again took over the Saudi camp.
That result intensified calls for Renard to be sacked ahead of the World Cup. Rumors suggested his departure was imminent, but the Saudi Arabian Football Federation swiftly denied anything of the sort.
It is worth noting that Renard himself has already made history, becoming the first coach to lead Saudi Arabia to World Cup qualification in 2022 and remaining in the role for the start of the tournament. Should he remain in charge for 2026, he would also become the first to manage the team at two consecutive World Cups.
Yet while SAFF and Renard turn their attention to their next challenge, Saudi fans remain anxious.
Speaking to Arab News, local fan Ahmed Al-Bawardi said the issue extends beyond results. “It’s not so much about the results, but the national team’s identity,” he said.
“We don’t look like a well-oiled team on the pitch, and we don’t feel the same excitement as we did in 2022.”
Asked whether he would like Renard to stay, Al-Bawardi added: “Sacking Renard might solve some problems, but what we’re seeing is deeper than just bad tactics.”
Renard himself has repeatedly pointed to the limited game time afforded to domestic players in the Roshn Saudi League. Al-Bawardi responded with a sentiment shared by many Saudi fans: “The Premier League is the best in the world. How many domestic players start there?”
According to TransferMarkt data for the 2025/26 season, the Premier League has 544 players registered, 388 of whom are foreign — a staggering 71 percent. The Roshn Saudi League, by comparison, is still some way off — only 37.5 percent of the league’s players are foreign.
Balancing the national team’s development alongside the league’s rapid expansion was never going to be easy. Nor was switching managerial philosophies, only to return to one whose previous work was partially undone.
As Saudi Arabia looks ahead to 2026, unease remains among the fanbase. With a World Cup group that includes former world champions Spain and Uruguay, the road to the US, Mexico and Canada may still prove to be rocky.
