Oscar Piastri has been praised for the mature and "loyal" way in which he dealt with the furore around his McLaren defection by fellow Aussie Mark Webber.
The 2021 Formula 2 champion was with the Alpine driver academy but the team had no seat in Formula 1 for him to fill right away. So he spent last year in a reserve role waiting for his chance, but it soon became clear the team was working to offer Fernando Alonso a fresh deal, meaning there would still be no place for him.
So, he signed a deal with McLaren to be their reserve in 2023 with a direct path to a race seat in the future. Of course, Alonso has now signed for Aston Martin and McLaren axed Daniel Ricciardo a year earlier than planned so, after a legal battle, Piastri has a race seat and Alpine have a lot of hurt feelings.
