Alpine says Oscar Piastri will replace Fernando Alonso for 2023... but Piastri has denied the move. Wait, what?

Been a busy few days in F1, hasn’t it? First Sebastian Vettel announced he was retiring at the end of the season, then Aston Martin poached Fernando Alonso from Alpine out of the blue. Now this.

But what exactly is this? Seems a silly question really: Alpine has released a statement saying that reserve driver Oscar Piastri - a back-to-back Formula 3 and Formula 2 champion, and a hot prospect for the future - will drive for the team alongside Esteban Ocon in 2023.

“Oscar is a bright and rare talent,” said team principal Otmar Szafnauer. “We are proud to have nurtured and supported him through the difficult pathways of the junior formulae. Through our collaboration over the past four years, we have seen him develop and mature into a driver who is more than capable of taking the step up to Formula 1.

“As our reserve driver he has been exposed to the team at the track, factory and testing where he has shown the maturity, promise and speed to ensure his promotion to our second seat alongside Esteban. Together, we believe the duo will give us the continuity we need to achieve our long-term goal of challenging for wins and championships.”

Seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? Er, apparently not. Piastri took to Twitter to deny he'd been promoted into Alpine's top seat. "This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023," he said.

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. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.

— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) August 2, 2022

Earlier today it was widely reported that Alonso’s departure to Aston Martin had caught the team by surprise: it had been set to choose between the Spaniard and Piastri, but believed the former was staying put and that the latter could be loaned out to a rival team, rumoured to be Williams.

That all changed when it saw the press release confirming Fernando’s new Aston deal on Monday morning. Apparently Piastri - together with his manager, the former Red Bull driver Mark Webber - had been eyeing up a deal with McLaren, which would see the Woking team ditch Daniel Ricciardo for 2023 despite him having a year remaining on his contract.

Confused? Us too. It looks like Alpine have gone ahead and locked down Piastri’s services under the terms of his existing agreement, but did he already have his heart set on partnering Lando Norris at McLaren? Did a clause in his contract allow him to do that? Will a bitter legal dispute ensue?

Who knows. Until we get more, welcome to F1 Oscar Piastri… we think.