As the world celebrated Oscar Piastri, the party has now come to a premature end. With Fernando Alonso’s surprising move to Aston martin, fans well assumed that the young Aussie would fill in the double world champion’s boots at Alpine, and rightfully so. However, the silly season in F1 doesn’t go down without drama, and it is only the beginning.

Alpine and F1 announced Piastri into their line-up for 2023. Fans celebrated with joy; however, Piastri probably looked at his phone a little confused. After the news broke, the F2 champion took to Twitter to make a rather shocking counter-announcement.

Piastri has now created chaos with this single statement: “I will not be driving for Alpine next year”. The driver’s market in this sport is rather complicated. As a reserve driver for the team, the only obvious next step for the driver is to make a move into the empty seat waiting for him. However, contractual nuances and driver movements truly add the spice to this crazy mess of a dish.

The Wait Ends as F1 World Welcomes Champion Oscar Piastri With Open Arms With Befitting Alpine Announcement

To put things plainly, Piastri’s contract with Alpine ended on July 31st- a day before Alonso sent F1 into havoc with his commitment to Aston Martin. So, technically, Piastri never owed it to his alma mater to drive for them. And clearly, the resounding final statement only means there’s a much better prospect at hand. Probably something more orange…?

What does Piastri’s hard-no to Alpine mean?

Reiterating the spice in the driver’s market, Oscar Piastri’s beloved compatriot comes to mind- the struggling Daniel Ricciardo. Although the 33-year-old should feel secure with McLaren till the next season, that isn’t the reality. The reality is, in fact, gloomy. Exit clauses are nothing new to the sport- if you don’t perform, you don’t drive. And unfortunately, the road has been a bumpy one for our Honey Badger.

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With Zak Brown publically calling out his driver to Ricciardo claiming to only need a winning car to prove himself; the papaya-themed drama has been a well-known undertone to this season. But has the plot finally reached its climax? Is it time for Ricciardo to hang up his orange overalls for the ones in blue?

It’s a very likely scenario- and a practical one at that. Piastri has proved himself since the 2021 season and it’s time for his efforts to bear its fruits, or papayas! Regardless, Ricciardo’s move to Alpine wouldn’t be hopeless either. In fact, the team has made itself a strong contender in the pointed end of the mid-field, often outperforming McLaren as well.

Watch this story: Daniel Ricciardo’s Best Moments in F1

As one storyline merges into the other, the driver’s market remains as uncertain as ever. With many eyes on Ricciardo’s allegedly confirmed seat- the heat is surely on this silly season.

Oscar Piastri Wrecks havoc on Twitter

Surely the sudden plot twist left fans taken aback, to say the least. Moving on from the shock, the roasts began. While some laughed at Alpine, others found hilarity in Piastri’s situation.

As Alonso enjoyed his time away from the burning flames at Alpine, fans were left amused at the irony of the situation.

This one fan simply summarized it all.

And a gentle reminder: Drive to Survive will definitely have a field day with this. No more complaints of creating drama for sure; Alpine just served Netflix their episode on a silver plate.

As the world now hopes to make some sense of the situation, the only people who can really provide this clarity are Alpine. However, surely putting out some fires takes time, and while we wait- Oscar Piastri gets to sit back and enjoy the chaos.