Alpine expects there would be “no issue” if either Daniel Ricciardo or Oscar Piastri ultimately joined for 2023.
On Tuesday, the Formula 1 driver market was blown open after Piastri rejected an announcement by the Enstone-based team declaring him their second driver alongside Esteban Ocon for next year.
This is because the Australian is rumoured to have an agreement to replace Ricciardo at McLaren, despite Daniel insisting he will see out the final year of his contract in 2023.
If Piastri did join McLaren, however, Alpine chief Otmar Szafnauer didn’t rule out a return for the ‘Honey Badger’, who raced for Renault in 2019/20.
“I mean, if you look at Fernando [Alonso], for example, he comes and goes, and I think that happens to other drivers too,” he told Motorsport.com.
“I don’t think that’s an issue at all. I think what we need to focus on is, like I say, the plans that we have for the next 89-88 races.
“We’ve got to make sure that we complement that plan with the best driver that we can, and there are some options out there for us. And we put the best driver in next to Esteban [Ocon], so that we can move forward towards what we’ve been planning.”
Another scenario is reconciliation between Piastri and Alpine, should their claim of a legal contract with the current F2 champion for 2023 be confirmed.
And if that was the case, Szafnauer believes the relationship hasn’t been damaged by the current situation.
“I’ve been around long enough where I’ve seen this kind of thing actually play out and happen,” he said of the contract dispute.
“When Jenson [Button] signed with Williams for 2005 and ended up staying at BAR Honda, there was absolutely no issue.
“I mean, I know Oscar is different from Jenson and hopefully we don’t have to go down that route, anyway.
“But your presumption was, oh, a driver wants to go somewhere else. Hopefully, that’s not the case because I have seen it where a driver actually signed with another team incorrectly, so had to drive for the team that he initially signed with.
“And it was absolutely no issue. Jenson at the time did a stellar job at BAR, and never ended up at Williams.”