Jakarta (ANTARA) - Alpine on Tuesday announced their reserve driver Oscar Piastri will be promoted as Esteban Ocon's teammate in F1 next year to replace Fernando Alonso, who moved to Aston Martin.
Previously, on Thursday last week Sebastian Vettel said he would retire from F1 at the end of the season, which sparked a chain reaction with Aston Martin's announcement of signing Alonso to replace the German driver next year.
This leaves an empty seat in Alpine, which will be filled by 21 from Australia's Piastri.
Piastri is currently on duty as a reserve driver for the Renault team and is the reigning Formula 2 champion after winning the title in his first year as a rookie.
Alpine says Piastri, since serving as a reserve driver, has received full team guidance and financial support as well as a comprehensive and intensive training program behind the wheel of the A521, the 2021 team car, as well as simulator sessions to prepare himself to F1.
"Alpine is now looking forward to seeing the next stage of his F1 career with Esteban Ocon," the Alpine team said in a statement.
Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer said he was proud of the talent shown by Piastri.
"We are proud to have nurtured and supported him through the difficult path of the junior formula.
"Through our collaboration over the past four years, we have seen him develop and mature into a driver who is more than capable enough to set foot into Formula 1
. long term to challenge for victories and championships."
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SPORTS UPDATE