Oscar Piastri recalled signing his McLaren F1 contract in a service station car park in the UK.
Piastri created a lot of buzz even before his F1 debut due to the controversy surrounding his decision to leave Alpine and join McLaren for the 2023 season.
Piastri, who won the Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula 3, and Formula 2 titles in consecutive seasons, was part of the Alpine Academy. When Fernando Alonso moved to Aston Martin, Piastri was announced as his replacement, only to later tweet that he was not actually taking the seat.
This led to a dispute between McLaren and the F1 Contract Recognition Board, but Piastri eventually secured his place with McLaren. He celebrated his first Grand Prix wins with the team in 2024, taking victories in Hungary and Azerbaijan.
Piastri shared how his contract signing with McLaren took place in an unexpected way. In an interview with Gentleman’s Journal, he said: “Yeah, it was quite a complicated 12 months to get into F1! Signing my F1 contract was a very special thing.
Even if there was some controversy around it, it was very, very special. It was in a service station car park in the UK, so it wasn’t the most glamorous place to be signing an F1 contract, but it was still a very, very special feeling.”
At the time of the controversy, Otmar Szafnauer was the Alpine team boss. He later distanced himself from the situation, explaining that Alpine had an option for Piastri after he finished his F2 career, but it was never executed. He also explained that Alpine lost the case when they filed the paperwork incorrectly, which led to McLaren acquiring Piastri.
Szafnauer addressed the issue surrounding a press release during the CRB case. He explained that the communications department, which didn’t report to him, put out a press release with his picture on it. He claimed that someone within Alpine had acted against him, creating issues within the organization.
Piastri’s current contract with McLaren runs until the end of the F1 2026 season.
