London, Aug. 2 (BUS) – Alpine has announced, Tuesday, that it has lifted Australian Reserve driver Oscar Piastre to the Formula 1 seat that opened the day before after Fernando Alonso’s surprise announcement of his departure at the end of the season.
Alonso signed a multi-year contract with Aston Martin, and Alpine quickly said it would be promoting its young 21-year-old talent to race alongside Esteban Ocon in 2023, according to the Associated Press.
There was no comment in the Alpine news release from Biastr and the current F2 champion did not mention the promotion on his social media platforms.
There has been speculation that Piastri was working on a better deal with another team, but Alpine holds his contract.
Aston Martin signed on Monday 41-year-old Alonso, the two-time world champion, to replace Sebastian Vettel, who announced his retirement last week. Alonso’s contract with Albine was expiring this season.
It was a hectic six days of Formula 1’s “ridiculous season” that opened ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix as Vettel announced he would retire at the end of the year.
Albin said Alonso gave the team no indication he was leaving until late Sunday night after the race, and the Piastre was quickly promoted.
Meanwhile, Williams said American driver Logan Sargent will make his Formula One debut when he runs his first practice session at the US Grand Prix later this year.
Sargent, the current F2 driver from Florida, will be the first American to race in a Formula One weekend since Alexander Rossi in 2015.
Albin said Piastre has already undergone an “intense and comprehensive training program” this season to “prepare him for the next big step” in F1.
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