Ricciardo, in the second year of a three-season deal with McLaren that has the third year as an option – crucially, on his side – was labouring through another difficult campaign by the time the 2022 season shifted to Monaco. Alonso’s bombshell brought them to the surface. Mercedes driver George Russell cut his F1 teeth with Williams, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc got his early reps with Alfa Romeo.īut behind the scenes and well before the Alonso/Aston alliance, Webber’s plans for Piastri were quietly crystallising – and at a time when Ricciardo’s second season at McLaren was heading down a similarly miserable path to his first. Teams farming out drivers to rival outfits further towards the back of the grid is commonplace in F1. If Alonso continued, Alpine – who have invested a significant sum of money in a testing program for Piastri to fast-track his development – were keen for the 2021 Formula 2 champion to race in F1 next season, preferably with a loan arrangement to the Williams team. If Alonso moved on, the Melburnian would be slotted into an Alpine race seat for 2023 alongside incumbent driver Esteban Ocon. ![]() All season, it was assumed the pathway for Piastri – Alpine’s reserve driver – would be determined by Alonso’s plans. However, when Alpine’s offer of a one-year deal with a one-year extension on the team’s side was trumped by a cast-iron two-year contract from Aston Martin, Alonso was out – and chaos was in. In the weeks leading up to Hungary, it appeared a formality that Alonso would continue with the team he won two world titles for when it was known as Renault in 2005-06. ![]() Vettel vacating his seat was little surprise, but the announcement of his replacement – 41-year-old Alpine driver Fernando Alonso – the day after the race in Budapest was such a shock that Alpine only became privy to the news when Aston Martin’s press release landed. ![]() Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel arrived at the Hungarian Grand Prix to announce that his 2022 campaign with Aston Martin would be his last, revealing he was retiring.
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