The puzzles are finally piecing together, as F1 welcomes another splendid driver announcement, this time from the Alpine camp. Formula 2 world champion and one of the brightest future stars, Oscar Piastri, will be making his Formula 1 debut next season, replacing veteran, Fernando Alonso, who recently affirmed his move to Aston Martin.

It all began at the Lawrence Stroll-led outfit, with the four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel, setting off a rather interesting chain reaction. The German announced his retirement, and many anticipated Mick Schumacher to take over the seat alongside Lance Stroll. But, to everyone’s shock, it ended up being Alonso instead, consequently leaving Piastri with an easy path to the pinnacle of motorsport.

Of course, the outcome didn’t play out as easy, considering his manager, Mark Webber’s desperation to find the young Australian a seat alongside Lando Norris at McLaren.

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However, after a chaotic few days, it looks like Daniel Ricciardo will indeed cling to his seat at McLaren while Piastri will line up alongside Esteban Ocon at the French outfit.

Why Piastri had to sit an entire F1 season out before his debut

It is quite surprising that a driver like Piastri had to sit out an entire F1 season before making the debut as a full-time driver. Tough luck, we’d say! Unfortunately, there was hardly any activity in the driver’s market in 2021, with most of the teams looking pretty happy with their respective line-ups.

Furthermore, the impending regulation changes meant that recruiting a rookie would seem like a serious gamble. Hence, Alpine had no other option but to use Piastri as a development/reserve driver for the time being. Nonetheless, as promised, Alpine have managed to offer Piastri his much-yearned F1 seat for the 2023 season.

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But, one must say, there is a bit of an odd feeling about this.

Controversy in the offing amid Alpine’s announcement?

Since the start of this week, rumors of Piastri replacing Ricciardo at McLaren have been on the rise. What’s more, the buzz blew up to a whole new level earlier today, with ex-F1 driver and Sky pundit, Karun Chandhok, too, joining the silly season talks. Hence, the entire F1 community was awaiting a possible announcement from McLaren.

But, in a rather unexpected turn of events, it is Alpine who have made the move instead. So, is this truly the case? Or will McLaren encounter another driver battle alongside the Alex Palou-Chip Ganassi Racing feud? Well, let’s see what the future holds. Meanwhile, take a look at how the fans reacted to this incredible revelation.

Twitter goes crazy as Alpine makes Oscar Piastri announcement amid rumors