(Motorsports news) In a turn of events, Australian driver and former F2 champion Oscar Piastri will replace Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren in 2023 after the FIA's contract recognition board (CRB) upheld the team's contract with the 2021 Formula 2 champion. McLaren and Alpine both felt they had a valid contract for Piastri’s services next season. The CRB upheld McLaren's contract, as they had signed a two-year contract on July 4 which was the day after the British Grand Prix. Immediately after the verdict was released by the CRB, McLaren announced Piastri would join the team in 2023.

Piastri is considered the best young driver to enter F1 since the 2019 rookie class of Lando Norris, who will subsequently be his teammate in 2023 along with the likes of George Russell and Alex Albon. The news leaves Alpine without a replacement for Aston Martin-bound Fernando Alonso next year and AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly has emerged as their leading contender for that seat. Ricciardo, whose imminent departure from McLaren opened the door for Piastri to join, is still in the mix for the Alpine seat that is only if Alpine decide to pay Red Bull and buy out the final year of the French driver's deal. Alpine academy product Piastri is considered to be a star of the future and seemed like the most logical option to fill that gap and Alpine quickly announced him to be stepping up to the F1 team for next year but the young driver came out and said that he wasn’t aware of this development which ultimately meant that his relationship with the dissolved.

For the McLaren team they will have the most promising young drivers on the F1 grid in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The most impressive thing about Piastri is that he’s a great learner and that trait of constant progression has been evident throughout his racing career so far. In his early years there was an obvious upward trend as he went on to win five out of his six races in the British F4 and in part two of his first year of Formula Renault Eurocup he scored all three of his podiums and twice as many points. Piastri could have never imagined that he would race for one of the most successful teams in F1 but his emergence as McLaren’s successor to a multiple grand prix winner is certainly a marquee signing and testament to his potential and fledgling reputation. Zac Brown has put tremendous faith in the youngster and it is his job to silence the doubters next year. 

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