Oscar Piastri has once again been thrust into favouritism for the McLaren F1 race seat currently held by the besieged Daniel Ricciardo.
Piastri’s name had gone off the boil in recent weeks – at least in relation to the McLaren ride – after being heavily linked to the Williams seat to replace Nicholas Latifi mid-season.
While he is still very likely to take over that seat in 2023, rumours in the Austrian paddock suggested Piastri’s manager Mark Webber was back in talks with McLaren.
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“There are lots of rumours around as to why Oscar Piastri, the Alpine reserve, has not signed for Williams,” Sky Sport F1’s Ted Kravitz said in his post-race Ted’s Notebook segment following the Austrian Grand Prix.
“Could the delay be that he and his manager Mark Webber are looking at potentially replacing Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren?
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“As every race goes by and points and performance fail to really come in for Daniel Ricciardo, maybe it looks more like, actually, McLaren will come in with a late offer for Oscar Piastri and nick him from under Williams’ nose and offer him Daniel Ricciardo’s seat for 2023.”
However, it is well-known that McLaren do not hold the option for 2023, and that the performance clause in the contract lies in favour of Ricciardo.
That is to say, the seat is Ricciardo’s unless he decides to go elsewhere. But, money can buy into, and out of, any contract.
Piastri is signed as reserve driver for Alpine. Management at Alpine are no doubt at a crossroads about what to do for next year – Fernando Alonso is without a doubt still competitive enough to warrant keeping his seat, but by re-signing Alonso on a short-term contract, they will all but seal the fate of their long-term prospect in Piastri.
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Pierre Gasly had been linked to the seat before he re-signed with AlphaTauri, while just this week Alex Albon and Sebastian Vettel emerged as new candidates.
Colton Herta – who drives for McLaren’s IndyCar team – also this week tested a McLaren F1 car.
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