It's Official: - Oscar Piastri races with McLaren F1 Team for 2023 on a two-year-deal, what next for Alpine?

It was confirmed on the eve of the Dutch Grand Prix (2/9/22), Oscar Piastri will make his Formula 1 debut in 2023 with McLaren on a two-year-deal till the end of 2024, after the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board rules in his favour.

Piastri has been the subject of a contractual saga over recent weeks after he refused a drive with Alpine for next year.

The F2 Champion has been associated with Alpine for a number of years, and undertook a test programme this season in anticipation of a full-time F1 promotion.

However, Piastri denied that he would race with Alpine shortly after it announced him as Fernando Alonso’s replacement for 2023.

It was believed that he had signed an option with McLaren (by the British , which has now officially been confirmed by the team, after the CRB reached a unanimous decision that his deal with McLaren was the only valid option.

In my opinion, in a pervious post my guess Alpine thought they had Alonso deal done for 2023 and forgot the deadline for Piastri. My guess was right Piastri is off to McLaren in 2023, if not early in some sort of way.

So what next for Alpine, who gonna to replace Alonso next season, options could be re-firing former drivers Daniel Ricciardo or Nico Hülkenberg, promoting Alpine Academy drivers Jack Doohan or Victor Martins. My guess that Alpine will go for AlphaTuari driver Pierre Gasly for an all French line-up alongside Esteban Ocon for 2023 with a rumour that Red Bull will replace Gasly at AlphaTuari next season with Indycar driver Colton Herta next season.

Intresting times ahead for Alpine.