Webber condemns Alpine "ballooning" of Piastri financial support
Webber condemns Alpine "ballooning" of Piastri financial support
Oscar Piastri's manager Mark Webber has accused Alpine of exaggerating the investment it has made in the soon-to-be McLaren driver.
Piastri will make his F1 debut as Lando Norris' team-mate after the Contract Recognition Board ruled the Woking-based outfit had the only valid deal with the 21-year-old Australian.
Throughout the process, Piastri has been levelled with claims of a lack of integrity from Otmar Szafnauer, with the Alpine team principal suggesting millions had been spent on providing the reigning F2 champion with a launchpad through the Academy and with private test runs.
But disputing Szafnauer's comments, former race winner Webber told Channel 4 in his role as a pundit: "The numbers have been really ballooned out of proportion.
"The summer break has given people a chance to throw millions and millions and millions. It is certainly not that.
"The junior categories, Oscar got some good prize money for winning those championships as well, outside of Alpine's investment.
"So over 80 per cent of the budget was supplied by outside sponsors and Oscar's family for his junior career and the Academy, so it is also important to get some context there."
Piastri "will do what he needs to do"
Szafnauer insinuated the team would convene with Piastri's team to discuss whether he would continue in his role as reserve driver for the remainder of the season.
Addressing the matter, Webber added: "Next week there will be a discussion to be had, now that it is all out there.
"Obviously, the current has been underneath for a while that something was happening. But they knew that, absolutely crystal clear they knew that.
"So now we are at a point this weekend where we will have a chat.
"Look, he has been working hard for this team, doing long hours, he has tried to contribute as much to Alpine as much as he can in terms of performance and doing as much as he can to help in the sim."
Asked if it could be assumed Piastri wanted to leave, Webber replied: "He is a pro, absolute professional and he will do what he needs to do.
"It is up to Alpine how they want to treat... they have a contract with him to the end of '22. It is up to them what they want to do."
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 champion reveals £100 MILLION contract to keep racing
- 49 minutes ago
F1 News Today: Newey 'property hunt' reveals Red Bull exit clues as Hamilton hints at Ferrari swoop
- 1 hour ago
Sky Sports F1 pundit calls for RADICAL change with impressive argument
- 1 hour ago
- 1
Newey TURNED DOWN F1 rivals before Red Bull decision
- 2 hours ago
Newey's wife 'scoping out properties' in MAJOR hint over next move
- 3 hours ago
Marko reveals how Verstappen has HELPED Perez at Red Bull
- Today 13:57
Related news
F1 boss delivers team SALE verdict with new targets set
F1 pundit slams 'EMBARRASSING' team and predicts driver exodus
F1 team announce shock RESIGNATION of two key figures
F1 team boss issues BRUTAL put down for star driver
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860