Alpine chief Otmar Szafnauer was blunt in saying he "expected more loyalty" from wantaway racer Oscar Piastri.
The young Australian is seen as a future star of Formula 1 after winning the F2 championship to secure three world championships in a row in feeder series. But it wasn't enough to earn him a place in the premier category in 2022, as he instead had to settle for the reserve driver job at Alpine.
Piastri has been a member of the French team's young driver programme for several years. Alpine invested heavily in his development, and were priming him for a seat in the future – a plan accelerated by Fernando Alonso's impending departure for Aston Martin.
