UNITED KINGDOM: After discussions about its future, Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer has stated that the Alpine Academy will remain in place until 2023.
Alpine Academy came under close investigation in 2022 F1 season
The Alpine Academy went under intense scrutiny in the second half of the 2022 F1 season because of the humiliating controversy involving Oscar Piastri and the 2023 Alpine F1 team seat.
Before being named as Fernando Alonso’s replacement for the upcoming season by Alpine, the Australian, who will race for McLaren in 2023, was a driver for Alpine Academy and participated in private testing with the team.
However, Piastri denied the announcement that a deal had been reached and quickly distanced himself from Alpine’s announcement. He had signed a contract to race for McLaren, so the reason for his disagreement was immediately apparent.
The matter wound up going before F1’s Contract Recognition Board, who favoured McLaren, with the CRB uncovering Piastri had never had a legitimate agreement with Alpine for 2023.
Szafnauer revealed that the team had discussions with Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi regarding whether or not to continue the junior driver program. The situation gave Alpine the impression of being somewhat disorganized in administrating their Academy contracts.
Jack Doohan, an Australian racer, leads the Academy. He tested with Alpine in Abu Dhabi. Szafnauer stated that he had plans for 2023.
Doohan will have to compete against fellow Alpine Academy member Victor Martins, who moves up to F2 after winning the F3 championship. Doohan will also have to compete against Olli Caldwell and Caio Collet, the other two drivers Alpine currently employs. Alpine may yet make changes to its roster before the 2023 season.
Speaking about Doohan, Szafnauer said he will feature in F2 again in 2023. He added that Doohan would be a part of the Alpine family, and his focus would be to win the F2 championship next year.
Also Read: Ferrari Revs up for 2023 F1 Season with New Car Launch Date
