F1 team accused of 'bullying' McLaren star

McLaren boss Zak Brown has accused a rival Formula 1 team of ‘bullying’ his driver Oscar Piastri, after he reflected on the Aussie’s arrival at the team.

Piastri has proven to be a valuable signing for McLaren, not only aiding the team to the constructors’ championship in 2024, but also proving why he is a contender for the 2025 world drivers’ title by winning four of the first six grands prix of the season.

However, Piastri was not always part of the McLaren family, and was brought up through the junior ranks by the Alpine Academy, their relationship coming to an end in 2023.

Having been passed over for a seat in 2022, Piastri served as Alpine and McLaren’s reserve driver, but following a contract dispute with the French team signed for the Woking-based outfit for the 2023 season.

The saga did not end there however, with Alpine putting out a false statement claiming Piastri had signed with the team, an announcement the Aussie was forced to publicly counter.

Speaking to Mail Sport, Brown has since addressed the contract saga and claimed that the false statement from Alpine was used to ‘bully’ Piastri into remaining with the team - whilst also criticising how then team principal Otmar Szafnauer handled the situation.

"He [Szafnauer] got caught with his pants down," Brown said. "He claims that when he arrived Oscar was not tied down in the way he should have been and that it had nothing to do with him.

"But when you come in you have to assess everything and fix it. Maybe he should have taken a look.

"Their press release saying Oscar would get the race seat in 2023 did not even contain a quote from him, they did not even ask him. They put the statement out as if it was a done deal. It was used to bully him into doing what they wanted.

"The CRB ordered them to pay our expenses, so that tells you what they made of the situation."

What happened with Oscar Piastri and Alpine?

In 2022. Alpine released an official statement that read: "BWT Alpine F1 Team confirms 21-year-old reserve driver Oscar Piastri as Esteban Ocon’s team-mate starting from 2023.

"In line with the commitments made by the team to the young Australian, Oscar will be promoted to race driver and step in Fernando Alonso’s seat from next year onwards."

However, Piastri confirmed that was not the case on his own X account, in words that have since become immortalised on social media.

"I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year," the Aussie wrote.

"This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year."

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