04/09/2022
NEWS STORY
Though the CRB has cleared his move to McLaren for 2023, Oscar Piastri remains the French team's reserve driver... but for how much longer?
Already humiliated by recent events, and having spent millions preparing the youngster for F1, it remains to be seen if Alpine is willing to continue its relationship with him or sever all ties.
Indeed, before the summer break, team boss Otmar Szafnauer was talking about the Frenchman's mandatory FP1 outings, but will Alpine really want to give him more experience before he leaves for Woking?
"He's with us this weekend, doing simulator work, and that will be decided on," says Szafnauer. "He'll continue this weekend.
"There's only a couple of days left, today and tomorrow, and then on Monday we'll get together with them and decide how to go forward."
The most likely scenario is that Piastri will be released early and either allowed to join McLaren or tend his garden.
However, that leaves the question of who would take over as reserve driver.
Step forward Jack Doohan, who is currently fourth in the F2 championship, with wins at Silverstone, Hungary and Spa.
Asked if he has had discussions with Alpine, having joined its Academy in February, the 19-year-old, who it is understood hold the required superlicence, was giving little away.
"No, not really at the moment," he told Speedcafe.com. "It's quite fresh, you could say, and at the moment they're allowing me to focus on the job at hand. At the moment we're performing well in what we're doing, so I think that they're letting me apply full focus to that.
"After Monza we'll have a big break where possibly I can shift my duties somewhere else," he added. "But at the moment, very happy for Oscar, as a fellow Aussie, making it to the Formula 1 grid with McLaren.
"We'll see what opportunities open up in the future. At the moment, like always, just focusing on Formula 2 and the task ahead."
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