McLaren driver Oscar Piastri offered an amusing response over his team radio after he narrowly avoided a peculiar incident involving his former team, Alpine, during Sunday`s Austrian Grand Prix.
The incident occurred on Lap 55 as Piastri was closely pursuing his teammate, Lando Norris, for the race lead. Attempting to navigate around slower traffic coming out of Turn 3, Piastri encountered Franco Colapinto in the Alpine. Colapinto, who was engaged in a battle with Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull, did not seem to see Piastri approaching, forcing the Australian driver off the track and onto the grass to prevent a collision.
Piastri, whose move from the Alpine junior program to McLaren three years ago was one of Formula 1`s most debated transfer sagas, expressed his clear displeasure after the near-miss. In an unbroadcasted radio message, he reportedly commented, “Alpine still manages to find a way to f— me over all these years later, huh.”
Despite the disruption, the 24-year-old managed to finish the race in second place, right behind Norris. This result meant his championship lead was reduced to 15 points.
Piastri`s career trajectory from a highly-rated junior to a leading title contender has been anything but straightforward. He joined the Renault (later Alpine) academy in January 2020. In July 2022, the Alpine team publicly announced that he would be one of their Formula 1 drivers for the upcoming season.
However, Piastri immediately refuted the announcement, asserting that he had not signed a contract with Alpine. This was subsequently validated by the FIA`s Contract Recognition Board. Piastri instead signed a deal with McLaren, citing a lack of trust with Alpine and describing the handling of the situation by then-Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer as “bizarre and upsetting.”
Regarding the incident on Sunday, Colapinto was handed a five-second time penalty and received a penalty point for his role in the near-collision.
Colapinto explained his perspective on the event: “I just didn’t see him,” he stated. “He was in my blind spot and I was focused on Tsunoda. I really wanted to get past.”
Rupert Caldwell 
Tristan Blackwood