Alpine underlines the very special role of Oscar Piastri

For his first season in Formula 2 last year, Oscar Piastri finished on the top step. But as a rookie, he had little chance of securing a permanent seat in Formula 1 the following year. Moreover, the seats at Alpine were already occupied by Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon. Nonetheless, Piastri didn’t entirely sit on the sidelines as he became the reserve driver for the French team Alpine.

Laurent Rossi, president of the Alpine team, explained the role that the Australian plays within the team. Not wanting to hinder his rapid development, Alpine has redesigned the role of reserve driver around Oscar Piastri.

“It will be an intense testing program, with many test days, a lot of kilometers, and a lot of simulator,” said Rossi. “Usually, we don’t choose the same driver every time for the simulator because it allows us to have different perspectives. But we believe Oscar can bring us more than anyone else […]. He will learn a lot, and he will also bring a lot to us.”

« Furthermore, we include him more during data analysis briefings,” continued the president. « He also observes the other cars and their driving lines and can provide us with feedback on the behavior of the cars, or even the drivers, as they enter certain turns, things like that.”

The wealth of this program is not usual for a reserve driver. Furthermore, Rossi revealed that Oscar Piastri could have the opportunity to drive the A522 during free practice sessions. However, this can only happen later in the season, in order to avoid any detrimental material damage for Alpine.