Formula 1
Szafnauer: No issue in bringing Ricciardo back to Alpine F1 team
Daniel Ricciardo's history of leaving Renault would not be an obstacle to a possible return to Alpine's Formula 1 team, should it not be able to keep Oscar Piastri.
Adam Cooper
Edited: Aug 4, 2022, 10:47 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Alpine still hopes the younger Australian will slot into the seat vacated by Fernando Alonso, and believes it has a valid contract to that effect.
The team announced on Tuesday afternoon that Piastri will drive in 2023, but shortly afterwards the Australian took to social media to deny that was the case.
Piastri is understood to have agreed a deal to go to McLaren at a time when it looked like his only option to race in 2023 was if Alpine loaned him to Williams, an arrangement that he and manager Mark Webber did not want to pursue.
The sudden availability of the Alonso seat has complicated matters for all parties.
Should Piastri win any upcoming legal tussle and end up going to McLaren then Alpine will have to look outside to replace him.
Szafnauer noted that following Monday’s announcement of Alonso’s move to Aston Martin he had already “fielded a bunch of calls from other potential drivers.”
If Ricciardo is ousted from McLaren to make way for Piastri, as a multiple race winner he will potentially be one of the most attractive options on the market, despite his recent patchy form for the Woking outfit.
The problem is that having been hired by the then Renault organisation at great expense to lead the team into the future Ricciardo decided early in his second season in 2020 to jump ship and join McLaren for 2021.
That decision didn’t go down well in the Renault camp, and while the team management has changed – with Cyril Abiteboul gone with Szafnauer and Laurent Rossi now at the helm – it could still be an issue.
Indeed, it’s understood that Renault Group boss Luca de Meo was especially frustrated by Ricciardo’s departure.
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
However when asked about Ricciardo by Motorsport.com, Szafnauer compared the situation with Alonso’s ability to return to teams, and insisted the priority was to find the right drivers to help the team with its 100-race plan of getting to the front of the field.
“I mean, if you look at Fernando, for example, he comes and goes, and I think that happens to other drivers too,” he said.
“And I don't think that's an issue at all. I think what we need to focus on is, like I say, the plans that we have for the next 89-88 races.
“We've got to make sure that we complement that plan with the best driver that we can, and there are some options out there for us. And we put the best driver in next to Esteban [Ocon], so that we can move forward towards what we've been planning.”
Speaking before Piastri’s social media statement, Szafnauer also insisted the team could work with the youngster should he ultimately be confirmed in the seat, despite the potential damage done to the relationship by his attempt to move to McLaren.
He compared the situation to that at BAR when Jenson Button appeared to be going to Williams for 2005, but ultimately remained with the Brackley team following a legal battle.
“I've been around long enough where I've seen this kind of thing actually play out and happen,” he said.
“When Jenson signed with Williams and ended up at British American Racing Honda, if you remember those days, there was absolutely no issue. I mean, I know Oscar is different from Jenson. Hopefully we don't have to go down that route, anyway.
“But your presumption was, oh, a driver wants to go somewhere else. So hopefully that's not the case. But I have seen it where a driver actually signed with another team incorrectly, so had to drive for the team that he initially signed with.
“And it was absolutely no issue. Jenson at the time did a stellar job at BAR, and never ended up at Williams.”
Read Also:
- Piastri denies he has signed with Alpine to race in F1 2023
- Alpine announces Piastri for F1 2023, but doubts remain
- Alpine learned Alonso had joined Aston Martin F1 in press release
Podium: Second place Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren; Race winner Fernando Alonso, Renault and third place Jenson Button, BAR
Photo by: Sutton Images
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Ferrari sees no need for F1 changes at Maranello over summer
Next article FIA set to finalise stricter F1 roll hoop tests for 2023
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Apr 10, 2024
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo shares heartfelt message after first Indy 500 visit brought back "childhood feelings"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Barcelona-Catalunya GP
3 mo
Daniel Ricciardo shares heartfelt message after first Indy 500 visit brought back "childhood feelings"
Lando Norris reunites with Daniel Ricciardo for Indy 500 celebrations after disastrous Canadian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Canadian GP
4 mo
Lando Norris reunites with Daniel Ricciardo for Indy 500 celebrations after disastrous Canadian GP
Daniel Ricciardo says life feels "more real" after abrupt F1 exit
Formula 1
Formula 1
Canadian GP
4 mo
Daniel Ricciardo says life feels "more real" after abrupt F1 exit
More from
Alpine
‘I’m sideways all the time’ – How Alpine’s feral F1 car plagued Pierre Gasly in Singapore
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
15 h
‘I’m sideways all the time’ – How Alpine’s feral F1 car plagued Pierre Gasly in Singapore
Could Alpine-Geely deal to save WEC hypercar programme fall through?
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
2 d
Could Alpine-Geely deal to save WEC hypercar programme fall through?
Latest news
Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 h
Ricky Stenhouse explains his side of Michael McDowell conflict
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 3 h
Barnes: Why IndyCar’s updated licensing system fails its own integrity test
Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
4 h
Why NASCAR is not penalizing Stenhouse, McDowell for post-race theatrics
Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 6 h
Dale Jr. explains why he doesn't use 'Earnhardt' in his signature
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe