Alpine could seek millions of dollars in damages in London’s High Court if their reserve Oscar Piastri refuses to run for them next season, team principal Otmar Szafnauer told Reuters on Monday.
Last week, Renault-owned Alpine announced the highly-rated Piastri as a replacement for double world champion Fernando Alonso in their 2023 squad, but the 21-year-old has ruled that out.
McLaren, who is battling Alpine for the title, has told Daniel Ricciardo he will be disqualified for Piastri, last year’s Formula Two champion.
Szafnauer said all the signs from their base in Paris are that Alpine is gearing up for a legal battle when the sport’s August break comes to an end.
“Going to the Supreme Court is more than 90% sure that’s what we’re going to do,” he added.
The American said he contacted Formula One’s Contract Recognition Board (CRB) last week but that avenue may not be enough.
“If the CRB says ‘your license is only valid in Alpine’, and then he (Piastri) says ‘that’s great but I’ve never driven for them, I’ll just sit out a year’ , then you have to go to the High Court for compensation,” Szafnauer said.
There has been speculation that the two teams will eventually come to an understanding that could see race winner Ricciardo return to Alpine, Australia’s employer before McLaren.
WEIGHT DETAILS
Alpine spent a lot of money preparing Piastri for Formula 1, with independent tests and thousands of kilometers in the car last year, including one at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
One Formula 1 power unit alone costs around 1.75 million euros ($1.78 million) and also costs a dedicated test team of mechanics and engineers who need the trip. airplanes, cars and hotels.
“We didn’t sit down with our accountants to figure out everything we spent. We will have to do that if we go to the Supreme Court,” Szafnauer said.
He said Piastri signed a Heads of Terms agreement with Alpine last November, setting the path to the 2023 launch race.
The deal includes the possibility of being loaned out to another team for a year.
Legal arguments will likely revolve around potential loopholes.
Piastri had been looking forward to a year at Williams before Alonso, seemingly close to an expansion at Alpine, unexpectedly announced his move to Aston Martin and sent the driving market into a tailspin.
Szafnauer said he understood Alonso’s argument, with money and contract lengths likely to be important factors for the 41-year-old Spaniard, but he had expected Piastri to display integrity and loyalty. .
